Tuesday, Apr 23, 2024 | Last Update : 04:04 PM IST
No detention centres in Bengal
Banerjee said she became a MP with the blessings of the people and also tackled five to six ministries in Delhi.
Kolkata: Reiterating her fierce stand against implementation of the CAA and NRC, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee Friday declared that she would lay down her life rather than allow any detention centre to be built in the state.
Her assertion came at a fair in Naihati of North 24 Parganas a month after her cabinet colleague, Ujjwal Biswas, announced the state government’s plans to build two detention centres in the district – one in New Town and the other in Bongaon while ruling out links with the NRC.
To allay public fear about detention centres, she attacked the BJP saying, “They are talking of building detention camps. Who is in power here? It is us. I am ready to sacrifice my life but I will not allow the BJP to build detention camps. Do not forget we are in power here.”
“It could happen in Assam as the BJP is in power there. They are in power in Delhi. Ours is also an elected government like them. Your (the BJP’s) writ exists in Delhi. But my writ prevails here. It has to be kept in mind. So, there is no gain in showing me the law,” she said.
Ms Banerjee said she became a MP with the blessings of the people and also tackled five to six ministries in Delhi. She had been brought up in Bengal with the people’s blessings. She could underst-and the Constitution well and there was no use misinterpreting it.
The TMC chief, who drew sharp criticism for her government’s step to start the National Popu-lation Register (NPR), the pivot of the NRC, in the state, also claimed that she had earlier confused the NPR with the Census which was why her government kick-started the NPR process but recently halted it after finding it anti-people. “No work, that leaves the people in trouble, can be done by me or my party or my government. We will help the people as much as we can. Why would I snatch something away from them? Do not forget that if anyone tries to snatch our rights, we would not let that happen and that would be the biggest lesson for him. Citizenship is our right and it will remain so,”
she said.
