West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addresses a public rally at Kalna in Burdwan district on Feb 9
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday likened herself to a Royal Bengal Tiger. Addressing a rally in Murshidabad, Banerjee said that she is not a weak person who can be "intimidated" by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"There is no reason to think I am weak, I am not a person to be afraid of anything. I am a strong person and will keep my head high as long as I live and till then I will live like a Royal Bengal Tiger," she said.
Banerjee also lashed out at those leaving the TMC ahead of assembly polls and joining the saffron camp. She said that they are akin to Mir Jafar. She said that "gaddars (traitors)" like Mir Jafar should not be forgotten and people would teach them a lesson in the elections.
READ MORE: Bengal's culture under threat in Mamata Banerjee rule: JP Nadda
"We have not forgotten the gaddars like Mir Jafar (who backstabbed Siraj Ud-Daulah during battle of Plassey). We should never forget the gaddars. You should all teach them a lesson. There are some who indulged in corruption have now jumped to BJP...to enter the BJP washing machine to get cleaned," she said.
Banerjee also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of wrongly claiming at a BJP meeting in Haldia on Sunday that government employees in Bengal do not get salaries properly. The CM said that it is the Centre which is selling off BSNL, SAIL and privatising the Railways and insurance companies.
She also claimed that the Centre did not give any assistance to West Bengal for dealing with the devastation caused by cyclone Amphan last year, nor did it do anything to support the state to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Raking up the outsider issue, the TMC supremo claimed that the BJP is a party of Gujarat and Delhi, which is bringing in National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). The state chief minister asserted that she will not allow these in Bengal.
"People from Gujarat will not rule Bengal, the Trinamool Congress will rule Bengal," she said.
West Bengal is slated to go to polls in April-May later this year.
READ MORE: Modi govt not disbursing funds under PM-Kisan scheme to Bengal farmers: Mamata Banerjee
