Mamata Banerjee Criticizes Modi's "Guarantee" as a Threat to Opposition

With regard to the BJP's much-discussed Lok Sabha election campaign theme, "Modi ki guarantee," Mamata Banerjee asserted on Monday that all opposition leaders would be imprisoned after June 4 following the release of the results.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the saffron campaign brigade is centred around the slogan "Modi ki guarantee," which is marketed as a comprehensive set of pledges for the advancement and well-being of the populace.

The chief minister of Bengal ridiculed the centerpiece of the BJP campaign at a poll rally in Bankura, posing the question, "What is Modi's guarantee? that after June, he would throw everyone in jail. Does a prime minister speak like this? That they will pick and arrest people when the polls conclude in June? Will they lock everyone up?

Mamata was obviously reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Sunday remarks at a polling place in Jalpaiguri, where he made a jab at Trinamul and other opposition parties for corruption.

Permit them to plot as much as they like. I want to assure you that things will get more serious about taking down the corrupt after June 4. Tell me, should corruption remain a thing of the past in this nation? Is it not time to put a stop to corruption? Should we not put corrupt individuals behind bars? Should we not eradicate the corruption within TMC? Modi has promised this, he had stated.

Mamata charged that Modi was employing central agencies to intimidate the opposition, particularly Trinamul, in her speech on Sunday.

"Apne pura jail bana diya Hindustan ko." Jail bana diya ganatantra ko (You have made the entire country into a jail). You've turned democracy into a prison)," she uttered.

"We shall instruct him (Modi) to turn the edifice you built for the parliament into a jail. Whom are you trying to intimidate? Mamata enquired, making it apparent that Trinamul would center its campaign on the idea that the BJP-led Centre is oppressing the Opposition by utilizing federal agencies.

Mamata brought up the two recent apprehensions by central agencies of former chief ministers of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren, and Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal.

"They detained Hemant Soren, the former chief minister of Jharkhand. Kalpana Soren, Hemant's wife, and I had a conversation yesterday, Sunday. Hemant was the nation's lone tribal chief minister and a leader of his tribe. Even though you also detained the chief minister of Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party would not be affected. They'll do better in the election, Mamata predicted.

She claims that while law and order is a state responsibility, under the guise of combating corruption, the central agencies have been harassing members of her party, notably women in Bengal.

The chief minister may have been alluding to the recent East Midnapore episode in Bhupatinagar, where NIA agents visited the residences of a few Trinamul politicians early on Saturday morning without appearing to notify the local police. A local mob attacked the NIA team investigating a blast case from 2022, setting off a political power struggle. The BJP accused Mamata of organizing attacks on central agencies, notwithstanding her accusations that they had attacked Bengali peasants in the run-up to the general election.

"You (Modi) claim to be sending everyone to prison, but how? Following the election, we will continue to hold state leadership. How are you going to put everyone in jail? Mamata enquired.

Mamata further criticized the Modi administration from the Bankura rally for failing to release the state government's rightfully owed money and for failing to announce any plans to provide aid to those affected by the recent storm in north Bengal.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.