Mamata Banerjee dares BJP to arrest her amid corruption claims
What's the story
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday dared the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to arrest her if they could.
She made these remarks at a Kolkata event amid corruption allegations against the TMC-led state government.
Notably, two of her close aides and senior party leaders, Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal, were recently arrested in separate corruption cases.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Banerjee's remarks came in the wake of the arrests of many TMC leaders, including Mondal and Chatterjee, for cattle smuggling and teacher job scams, respectively.
Mondal is the latest in a long list of opposition leaders arrested by a central agency.
The TMC has called these arrests a "ploy" by the BJP to "harass" opponents. However, the BJP disputed the charges.
Statement
What exactly did Banerjee say?
"The BJP is branding everybody as thieves. They are campaigning in a way as if all of us in the TMC are thieves and only the BJP and its leaders are holy," an infuriated Banerjee said during the event, referring to corruption allegations against the TMC.
"Had I not been in politics, I would have torn out their tongues," PTI quoted her as saying.
Comments
BJP launching malicious campaign against me: Banerjee
Banerjee has claimed that a hostile campaign has been launched against her and other TMC veterans by the BJP.
She also alleged the next target for the BJP and its central agencies will be senior TMC leaders like Kolkata Mayor and state minister Firhad Hakim and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
She was speaking at a rally of the TMC's student wing in Kolkata.
Allegations
TMC chief accused BJP of misusing central probe agencies
The West Bengal CM further accused the BJP of misusing central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for political gains and to destabilize elected non-BJP party governments across India.
Meanwhile, she pressed the saffron party to explain from where it has been receiving thousands of crores to destabilize "elected state governments in line with the Maharashtra model."
Background
Eyes on 2024 Lok Sabha polls
Banerjee went on to say that the BJP is also intimidating the media, the courts, and various political parties, alleging that it is using Pegasus—spyware developed by Israel's NSO Group—to take away people's freedom.
She also claimed the saffron party is stashing money overseas "through hawala."
Notably, she has vowed to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.