West Bengal won't accept BJP's politics: TMC's Sagarika Ghose
New Delhi (PTI): Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose on Saturday claimed West Bengal would never accept BJP's politics, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his party would win the next assembly polls in the state.
She also said Bengal has such a leader in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is 24x7 on the ground with the people and not a 'hawaii jahaz' (airplane) leader.
Talking to PTI Videos, Ghose said, "I would like to give a few reality checks to Mr. Narendra Modi. He spoke about the conquest of Bengal, that he wants to conquer Bengal, as if Bengal is a piece of land to be added to Mr. Modi's CV."
"First of all, Bengal will never accept the kind of politics that Mr. Modi and BJP do... You'll give money, you'll divide and rule, you'll use muscle power, violence. This politics Bengal will never accept," she said.
"Secondly, in Bengal, we have such a leader, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is 24x7 on the ground with the people. She's not a 'hawaii jahaz' (airplane) leader who's travelling in the hawaii jahaz and just coming for votes. She's 24x7 with the people," she said.
Ghose claimed the West Bengal government's schemes like Kanyashree show its commitment towards women empowerment.
"Scheme like Kanyashree is something that is a life commitment for the Bengal government... It's not a pre-election bribe to women to win votes," she said.
Ghose also accused the Centre of denying West Bengal its "legitimate dues" under schemes like MGNREGS.
"The manner in which the Bengal government has been denied dues, the central government has denied Bengal its legitimate dues, NREGA dues, Awas Yojana dues... Bengal will never bow down to a BJP and a central government which is flouting the federal structure, flouting constitutional norms, and denying a state its legitimate and just dues," she said.
She said people from West Bengal have been targeted in different parts of the country for speaking Bangla, and accused the Centre of being against West Bengal.
"The manner in which citizens of India who happen to be poor, who happen to be helpless, who are journeying to different paths as wage labourers, as labourers in different states, they are being called ghuspetia, they are being called infiltrators because they are Bangla speakers," Ghose alleged.
"They are citizens of India searching for a living, they're trying to earn a living , and you're using them for this dirty politics of divide and rule... Bengal will never accept this".
"There are BJP people who have called the Bangla language Bangladeshi language. Our language is extremely important to us. Our cultural sensitivities have been repeatedly targeted and abused by the BJP," she said.
"Bengal will not tolerate this. We are the children of Vivekananda, of Netaji Subhash Bose, of Rabindranath Tagore, and we will fight the BJP and we will win," Ghose added.
Narendra Modi on Friday termed the NDA win in Bihar as a vote for pro-people governance and vowed to throw out 'jungle raj' from West Bengal, saying the BJP's victory march will follow the flow of river Ganga from Bihar to Bengal.
Addressing a thanksgiving function at the BJP headquarters here, he said the victory in Bihar has paved the way for the BJP's triumph in Bengal.
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RCB beat MI by 18 runs after batters fire
Mumbai (PTI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar, Phil Salt and Virat Kohli blasted half-centuries as the defending champions beat Mumbai Indians by 18 runs in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.
Salt (78 off 36 balls) and Kohli (50 off 38 balls) stitched together a 120-run stand for the opening wicket before Patidar scored a rapid 53 off just 20 balls as RCB posted 240 for 4.
In response, Mumbai Indians were restricted to 222 for 5, with RCB spinner Suyash Sharma (2/47) putting the skids on the home side with a double strike in the eighth over, from which they could not recover.
Sherfane Rutherford top-scored for MI with an unbeaten 71 off 31 balls.
While opener Rohit Sharma appeared to be struggling with a hamstring issue and had to retire hurt on 19, his partner Ryan Rickelton made 37, while Suryakumar Yadav (33) and Hardik Pandya (40) were the other contributors for MI.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 240 for 4 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 78, Virat Kohli 50, Rajat Patidar 53, Tim David 35 not out).
Mumbai Indians: 222 for 5 in 20 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 71 not out, Ryan Rickelton 37, Hardik Pandya 40; Suyash Sharma 2/47).
