Mamata Banerjee in Malda on Thursday. PTI Mamata Banerjee in Malda on Thursday. PTI

CHIEF MINISTER Mamata Banerjee on Thursday claimed that if the BJP-led NDA government sent one more Trinamool Congress leader to jail, the people of Bengal would put one lakh BJP workers behind bars.

She was apparently responding to BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya’s statement on May 2 that those who got money from Narada, Saradha and Rose Valley chit fund scams, would be imprisoned.

Without using Vijayvargiya’s name, Mamata said: “For the last two days, a BJP leader who was shunted out of the civic body in Indore over corruption charges has been saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi had instructed CBI to arrest Trinamool leaders Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Paul. He also said more TMC leaders will be arrested. Is he God or the CBI director to say such things? Has the PM whispered in his ears to go to West Bengal and say this publicly? As a citizen, I have every right to know.”

“My Cabinet minister Subhendu Adhikari is from an affluent family. He does not need a lakh from Narada to be rich. Another minister, Firhad Hakim, too belongs to an affluent family and does not need money. It is same with Mukul Roy. But they are TMC leaders, this politics of vendetta will not last for long,” she added.

“On the other hand, there are lots of allegations against BJP leaders — ranging from corruption to child trafficking. I have cases ready for them. I will advise them not to fly so high… I challenge you to send one more Trinamool leader to jail… Then people of Bengal will put one lakh BJP workers behind bars,” she said.

The CM also came down heavily on BJP for accusing Trinamool of abducting tribal couple Raju and Gita Mahali and forcing them to join the ruling party. “Yesterday, the party spent the entire day abusing us. Even their ministers were abusing our party. A Union minister said there is reckless violence in West Bengal. What words…. I told Derek O’Brien what is this?… People in Bengal are at peace and the happiest. There is no injustice, no trouble. BJP has no work and are bad-mouthing about us. I want to tell the leaders of Delhi if anyone maligns the state, then there will be no bigger enemy than me,” she said.

On Wednesday, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said, “The tragedy is that for many years, West Bengal had been a victim of fear and violence under the Left parties. Now, it is a victim of fear and reckless violence under Trinamool.”

Taking on a BJP leader who allegedly called her an eunuch, Mamata said: “In a television news channel, I saw a BJP leader was calling me an eunuch. I am ashamed to say that he was saying ‘Is Mamata Banerjee a woman, or a man, or a eunuch?’ This is the kind of language they are using. I am ashamed that I was born here. How dare they question my birth, my mother, my father, my religion? Such audacity and arrogance they have.”

On Sunday, BJP leader Shyamapada Mondal had in Chandrakona said: “Today it is not clear whether she is a man or a woman. If anyone has seen hijra in Banaras recently, then I will tell him that Banerjee has turned into a hijra here.”

At an administrative meeting, Mamata ordered a probe into students sitting on the floor during their Part 1 exams at Malda College on April 28.

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