Commencing her speech on Martyrs' Day on Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to the opposition to unite against the Narendra Modi government.
Martyrs' Day marks the firing on Congress protesters in Kolkata by the then ruling Left Front government on July 21, 1993. The day is among the most important events on the calendar of the Trinamool Congress and Mamata's speeches on the occasion have been keenly watched.
This time, the media glare was heightened by the TMC's victory in the Assembly polls in May, which was projected as giving Mamata more leverage as a national politician.
Mamata Banerjee thanked Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh and P. Chidambaram, Sharad Pawar of NCP, Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena and representatives of the Akali Dal, DMK and other parties for attending the TMC function from Constitution Club in Delhi. Underlining the 'national' emphasis of her speech, Mamata spoke in Hindi, English and Bengali.
Mamata hit out the Narendra Modi government on a number of issues She said the motto of the Modi government was "capture election, capture judiciary, capture media houses."
Referring to the recent Pegasus surveillance issue, Banerjee, said "In place of democracy, there is surveillance across country. Even judges and ministers are not spared." Mamata even held up her mobile phone to show she had pasted a cello tape on the camera to avoid surveillance. Mamata Banerjee appealed to the Supreme Court to consider taking up the Pegasus snooping issue as a suo motu case. She declared "Only judiciary can save this country."
Mamata described as shameful the fact that four lakh people had died of COVID in India. She said there was no "vaccine or medicine". Referring to Uttar Pradesh, Mamata claimed "he", alluding to Prime Minister Modi without naming him, had called it the "best state". Mamata alleged bodies were floating in rivers in Uttar Pradesh.
Mamata Banerjee described the Modi government's handling of COVID as a "monumental failure".
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Mamata implored the opposition to ensure that a united front against the BJP was formed in each state before the 2024 election. "Don't waste time, do your job now," Mamata said.
Referring to her plans to travel to Delhi, Mamata said, "Sharadji (Sharad Pawar) And Chidambaramji (P. Chidambaram), please convene meeting next week." She said she will go to Delhi on July 27 and would be in the national capital for three days.
