Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday said the police refused to give permission to her party to protest in Kolkata over the attacks on senior party leaders.
She also alleged the police were helping the BJP weaken the TMC workers through intimidation and arrests.
Launching a blistering attack on the BJP, Mamata Banerjee alleged that the assaults were part of a deliberate attempt to kill senior Opposition leaders.
Banerjee alleged that her party workers were being prevented from carrying out political activities across the state.
"They are not allowing our workers to hold meetings and are not allowing us to come out.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday said the police refused to give permission to her party to protest in Kolkata over the attacks on senior party leaders. Claiming that a "police raj" was prevailing in West Bengal, Banerjee said she would go to Delhi and protest alone if the police don't permit her to stage a demonstration on Tuesday.
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Addressing party workers and supporters virtually, Banerjee said the TMC had sought permission to hold a protest at Rani Rashmoni Road in Kolkata on Tuesday, but the police had denied it. Calling the refusal politically motivated, she asserted that she would continue with the agitation and, if necessary, stage a protest in the national capital. She also alleged the police were helping the BJP weaken the TMC workers through intimidation and arrests.
"They are not giving us permission to hold a dharna. The road is mostly clear and it is a protest of barely 100 people. We submitted a letter to the police. If they did not want us to hold it there, they could have suggested another venue. If you don't give permission, I will protest in Delhi alone," she said.
Banerjee's remarks came days after her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, the party's national general secretary and widely regarded as Mamata Banerjee's political heir, was attacked and injured while visiting a post-poll victim's family home in Sonarpur and is currently recovering at home. Kalyan Banerjee, the Serampore MP and one of the party's most combative voices in Parliament, was also targeted in Hooghly.
Launching a blistering attack on the BJP, Mamata Banerjee alleged that the assaults were part of a deliberate attempt to kill senior Opposition leaders. "You have tried to kill Abhishek and Kalyan Banerjee," she said.
She alleged a "police raj" was prevailing in the state and accused the administration of systematically curbing the political activities of the TMC. "Police are not giving permission to TMC to conduct meetings and rallies. Still, we will emerge stronger. Total lawlessness is going on and TMC will not be weakened by snatching away one or two MLAs," she said.
Banerjee alleged that her party workers were being prevented from carrying out political activities across the state. "They are not allowing our workers to hold meetings and are not allowing us to come out. They have broken 2,500 party offices. They have seized Eidgaahs and closed missionary institutions," she alleged.
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The TMC chief alleged that party supporters were being threatened with fabricated criminal cases. "They are threatening our workers that if they participate in meetings, they will be charged in fake arms cases and narcotics cases," she said.
Questioning the conduct of the recently concluded civic elections and subsequent recounts, Banerjee claimed that several seats had been "looted". "I have a specific report that 177 seats have been looted. Tapas Chatterjee from Rajarhat had won but was defeated after recounting. They also chased me out from a counting centre when I was winning by 13,000 votes (in Bhabanipur)," she alleged.
On the Falta Assembly re-poll, Banerjee said the TMC's campaign was crippled by arrests and intimidation. "How could we have fought in the Falta re-poll when you arrested 500 of our agents and threatened our candidate? In the postal ballots, we were ahead by 1,700 of 1,800 votes. But, through muscle power and money power, you think TMC can be broken. It cannot be broken," she said.
She accused the police of enabling lawlessness and suppressing Opposition's activities. "The administration is running a lawless government. You are not letting us hold meetings. What you are doing, I don't have any language for you," she said.
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The former Chief Minister also dismissed suggestions that inducements could trigger large-scale defections from the party. "By giving money to a few TMC MPs and MLAs, you will not get much yield. TMC is getting stronger," she said.
Banerjee further alleged that the state had been handed over to "lumpens" and claimed that the law and order situation and business climate had deteriorated. "Look at the economic condition of the state. Business is being hampered," she said.
The BJP had earlier rejected the TMC's allegations of being involved in attacks on Abhishek Banerjee and Kalyan Banerjee, and accused the opposition party of attempting to divert attention from electoral setbacks and internal dissent.
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