india

Updated: Feb 05, 2019 18:58 IST

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday made a prophecy that the Trinamool Congress will all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in the parliamentary election later this year as a reaction to the action taken by the Centre “to create disturbances” in the state. Naidu’s comments came amid face-off between the Narendra Modi government of the Centre and the Mamata Banerjee administration in West Bengal over a raid by the officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

“For every action, there is a reaction,” said Naidu in Kolkata, where he reached from Andhra Pradesh to express solidarity with Mamata Banerjee, who was began her sit-in in the city on Sunday night. She began her dharna after a team of CBI officials came to question Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar in connection with the Sharada chit fund scam.

Naidu attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of “suppressing” all the voices of dissent. He said, “Democracy is in danger today...It is worse than Emergency.”

Naidu described his West Bengal counterpart as the “architect” of the federal front against the BJP-led NDA. “She is the architect of the federal front. She is the main pillar of the opposition,” Naidu said.

Naidu, who parted ways with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) last year over special status for Andhra Pradesh, said, “In West Bengal, they (the NDA and the BJP) don’t have anything. They have no votes, no seats. They are only creating disturbances. It will hurt development of West Bengal.”

“Mamata Banerjee is very good at tackling not only political issues but also development issues. They are having a grouse. Tomorrow, she will win all 42 seats then she will become the deciding force at the national level. How to weaken her, they are watching…not only her but all opposition parties,” he said.

“Ultimately, they want to demoralise even the cadre…But the TMC cadres are very strong…I am confident that after this action (alleged misuse of CBi against the Mamata Banerjee government), you are going to win all 42 seats with thumping majority,” Naidu said.

Naidu further said that he visited Banerjee “on the behalf of all 23 parties”, a reference to an apparent coalition of regional parties that are opposing the BJP. He said, “We will fight together. We are united, all 23 parties. We will discuss and take a decision together.”

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister said the current face-off between the Centre and West Bengal government was unprecedented. “I have never seen this type of government. I have been in politics for the last 40 years. Narendra Modi came in 2002, I was a chief minister in 1995. Mamata was minister before him. She was central minister in 1998 in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government,” he said.

Naidu welcomed the Supreme Court order earlier in the day ruling that the CBI can’t arrest Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar but can question him in the chit fund case.