Former Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee addresses a rally in Serampore on Saturday
I appeared in Supreme Court and brought back 32 lakh people to the voter list,” she said. Banerjee’s rally came after she spoke to Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi and CPM general secretary MA Baby ahead of the Sept 30 opposition meeting at Delhi’s Constitution Club. Senior state minister Agnimitra Paul said: “The people of Bengal gave Mamata Banerjee 15 years. Over those 15 years, everything was destroyed—corruption, arrogance, no utilisation.
Now they can hold protest rallies, but it won’t be of any benefit.
“Vanish Kumar must go, what he has done is a criminal act,” Banerjee said at Serampore, adding that over 90 lakh people were deleted from voter rolls. “If they could capture Bengal using SIR, we will capture Delhi,” she said. On building alliances with other opposition parties, she said, “There is no need to see who is red, who is blue, or who is yellow. On closing ranks with CPM, Banerjee said Baby had written to her proposing a joint sit-down. “I immediately said—yes, I agree with you. Alleging the fight isn’t only about Kumar, Banerjee said without naming anyone: “The Narad-Narad duo is equally responsible. She said questions must also be asked about the role of others, including Seema Khanna. Alleging SIR had driven a wedge between rich and poor, she said: “Those who are powerful may find a way to protect themselves, but what about poor people whose names have been removed?
“We did not lose the Bengal elections. The mandate was stolen from us. The electoral process must be transparent. We will look at the issue — if it is in favour of the people, I have no need to look at which party it is. Let’s sit together and discuss. “I have never seen this scale of propaganda and pressure. Thousands of cases have been filed, many manufactured against our people,” she added. Are they not citizens of this country? The people of Bengal are highly educated. Once a decision is made, they never bring that party back.”