It’s election season and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee won’t let go of any chance to take potshots at the BJP-led Central government. Her target on Thursday was ‘Amit bhaiya’ (Home Minister Amit Shah), who she attacked over the violence during the January 26 farmers’ tractor rally.
“Police could not tackle the situation in Delhi. If it would have been Bengal then Amit bhaiya would have said, ‘kya hua?’ We strongly condemn it. We want these three laws to be repealed. Either you withdraw the laws or leave the chair,” ANI quoted Banerjee as saying. She was speaking in the Assembly as the state government tabled a resolution against the three central farm laws.
The BJP and Trinamool are engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation in the state going to polls in April this year. The BJP is making aggressive inroads in the state ruled by Mamata Banerjee for the past 10 years. The saffron party’s vote share went up from 17% in 2014 Lok Sabha elections to 40% in 2019 and the number of seats grew from 2 to 18.
Commenting on the chaos in the national Capital during the farmers’ protest rally against new farm laws, the Chief Minister said, “The Modi government has badly handled the situation in Delhi and the BJP is responsible for what had happened there. First tackle Delhi then think of Bengal.”
With elections just a few months away, the state is already in the throes of a full-fledged election campaign, complete with sledging, rallies, roadshows and poster wars. Several union ministers, including Amit Shah, have made several campaign trips to the state. The leaders of the two parties often engage in verbal duels and allegations.