TURA:
Trinamool’s seniormost leader after Mamata Banerjee, her nephew and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, has called upon the people of Meghalaya to be the abode of change and ensure the NPP government in the state and the BJP leadership in Delhi that allegedly dictates terms are consigned to the history books when elections take place.
In his maiden visit to the Garo Hills, particularly Tura, Abhishek encouraged the people of the state to vote out the Conrad K Sangma government which he dubbed as a “proxy government” of the BJP in New Delhi.
“Remember that the sun rises from the east, and this time, India’s future and the power, the quest, the hunger and the determination to usher in a change, will start from this very soil. Meghalaya’s youth, students, people from across all walks of life, I invite each of you to be part of this journey and ensure this corrupt, narcissistic MDA and NPP government is uprooted from the state in the next three months,” said Abhishek during inauguration of an annexe for the West Garo Hills office of the Trinamool at Teteng A’ja, ura on Thursday night.
He was accompanied by leader of the opposition and former chief minister Mukul Sangma, senior TMC leader and MLA Charles Pyngrope, TMC MP Manas Bhunia, among others.
Attack on Himanta and Modi
Abhishek did not hold back any punches as he accused the power centre in Guwahati (read Himanta Biswa Sarma) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi (in Delhi) of trying to “subjugate” the people of Meghalaya.
“TMC will not budge an inch from its fight against the autocratic forces sitting in Guwahati and Delhi who want to rule and dominate the people of Meghalaya,” he warned.
He cited the example of his aunt and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee who has been fighting single handedly against the BJP.
“One lady has shown the country how to take on the might of the saffron party. The BJP and its agencies tried everything to ensure her defeat just because she has not surrendered. She has set an example for the rest of the country. Every agency is after her, starting from the election commission. In Bengal elections they tried every trick in the book but failed,” pointed out Abhishek as supporters applauded.
He said that Trinamool is here to stay in Meghalaya and is not only aiming to defeat the NPP and the BJP, but ensure people of the state get their dues.
“TMC is the only party that is taking on the BJP head-on, no other party is able to do that in the country. Speculation about jumping ship by Trinamool leaders to other parties is entirely false. Rather, in the last six months TMC is the only party where two BJP MPs have jumped ship to join us. We are not going to be cowed down by their intimidation tactics. Rest assured,” said Banerjee.
Congress faces Trinamool heat
The Trinamool Congress has warned that supporting the Congress and voting for the grand old party would work to the BJP’s advantage. He cited the recent fiasco when Goa went to the polls.
“In Goa, the Congress said that they had the ability to defeat the BJP. But what happened? We have been saying from day one that every vote for the Congress is a vote for the BJP. So we can’t make the same mistake. If you are voting for the hand, the hand is only going to strengthen the lotus” he cautioned.