The Aryavarth Express
Agency(West Bengal): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, during a rally in Bankura district, strongly criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent statements regarding anti-corruption measures, which are to be intensified after the Lok Sabha election results are announced on June 4. Banerjee interpreted Modi’s promise as an implicit threat to imprison opposition leaders, labeling it as a distortion of democracy under the guise of combating corruption.
“The BJP has, in reality, turned the country and its democratic framework into a prison,” Banerjee alleged, referring to the central government’s use of agencies like the ED, CBI, NIA, and the Income Tax Department as tools for political intimidation. She contended that these agencies are wielded to suppress dissenting voices and opposition parties, undermining the democratic process.
This accusation comes in the backdrop of Modi’s statement at a Jalpaiguri rally, where he differentiated his government’s anti-corruption stance from the opposition’s allegedly protective attitude towards corrupt practices. Modi had assured more rigorous actions against the corrupt post-elections, which Banerjee rebuked as undemocratic rhetoric unbecoming of a Prime Minister.
Banerjee also highlighted the recent aggressive operations by national agencies in West Bengal, specifically criticizing a nighttime raid and the subsequent arrest of TMC leaders by these agencies. She warned that such actions provoke resistance and asserted that the wives of arrested leaders would actively protest against what she views as unjust targeting.
Further amplifying her critique, Banerjee brought up the arrests of prominent opposition figures like Jharkhand’s tribal leader and former Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, questioning the motives behind these arrests. She argued that these actions were politically motivated rather than legally justified.
Additionally, Banerjee slammed the central government for not providing adequate relief to the victims of a recent tornado in Jalpaiguri, accusing the Modi government of neglecting the needs of the people in disaster-stricken areas.
