Kolkata, Mar. 6 (IANS): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday gave out slogan “Delhi Chalo” and vowed to imprint her party’s footsteps in the national capital, but claimed that they would not look for any benefits other than betterment of the country.
She also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of trying to trigger a communal riot in the state by throwing meat in religious places, and announced cash reward of Rs 1,000 or jobs to people who catch such offenders.
“Bengal does not want anything but the betterment of the country. Our target is the Red Fort in Delhi. Let’s go to Delhi. We believe in Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s slogan - ‘Delhi Chalo’. So Bengal will win over the country, win over the world in future,” Banerjee said in a public meeting here.
She said Bengal would stand by everyone in the fight against the Centre but would not demand any benefit for themselves.
“Bengal will not take anything for themselves but they will stand by everyone. They will take everyone along and fight. They will show what Bengal can do, no one else can,” she claimed amid massive cheers from the crowd.
In a veiled attack on the Centre’s ruling party BJP, the Trinamool Congress supremo accused them of trying to buy off the poor people by giving out cash and dividing people along communal lines.
“Being poor and coming from a poor family is not a crime but if someone tries to buy off the poor men by giving money, that is a crime. When someone tries to bring people on their side by triggering communal riot, that is a crime,” she said.
Charging the BJP-RSS with trying to trigger a communal riot by secretly throwing meat in religious places, she urged the police to form community development committees in every locality to catch the offenders and to engage local people in keeping an eye on such incidents.
“They have started a new conspiracy recently. They are giving money to some people and asking them to throw meat in temples and mosques. This is a conspiracy, a deliberate attempt to inflict a communal riot by the BJP-RSS,” Banerjee said during an administrative meeting in Jhargram.
“They are doing this to set off a riot between the two communities. I am sure they would try the same trick during Ram Navami. I do not need to see who is Hindu and who is Muslim. I am in favour of everyone. An offender is an offender.”
Banerjee said she has instructed the inspectors in-charge in all police stations to be alert.
“We have seen this happening in two places in the North 24 Parganas district in quick succession. Some BJP-RSS activists were arrested in the incident in Habra. That’s why I am taking their name. If Trinamool Congress activists had been arrested, I would have mentioned them as well,” said the Trinamool Congress supremo.
“Involve the local public. If someone catches such offenders, award him or her with a prize money of Rs 1,000. I will provide jobs to some and money to others if they successfully intercept such offenders,” she added.
