Kolkata: On March 8, Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee will hold a political rally in South 24 Parganas’ Raidighi, merely 17 km away from the spot in Mathurapur where Union home minister Amit Shah held his ‘Poriborton Yatra’ on Monday. On Monday, meanwhile, Banerjee criticised the BJP ‘yatra’.“The zamindars have started a Rath Yatra. We are all familiar with Lord Jagannath’s Rath… this is the first time I am seeing a Rath Yatra in March. We have heard of chariots of deities, this is the first time I am hearing of a Rath Yatra by cheats. People’s representatives should be on the streets. Here, we see them on chariots. They are in the opposition in the state, and yet, they ride chariots. Imagine what they will ride if they come to office,” Banerjee said, while launching TMC’s SC/ST outreach program ‘Tapashilir Sanglap’ in Kolkata.Taking a dig at Bihar deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha’s remarks regarding the sale of fish and meat, Banerjee said, “The deputy CM of Bihar has said meat and fish cannot be sold. Please feed BJP netas fish and meat when they pass through your area in their chariots. Treat them as your guests.”He added, “BJP is not asking for your vote, they are trying to decide what you eat and what you wear. If BJP wins, they will ban the sale of fish and meat. In 2024, PM Modi said those who eat fish are ‘Mughals.’ When the rath passes through your area, buy them a cup of tea and remind them that they have withheld Bengal’s funds. Tell them to keep their chariots well-oiled. They will have to return to Gujarat and Maharashtra empty-handed on those very chariots.“In Bengal, 68 seats are reserved for SCs and 16 for STs. These seats witnessed a fierce contest in the 2021 assembly polls, with Trinamool winning 45 and the BJP 39.“Several BJP netas have insulted SC and ST communities since they came to office in 2014. NCRB data shows the states topping the charts for atrocities against SCs are all BJP-governed. First on the list is UP, second is Rajasthan, and third is MP. In UP, 15,130 cases have been registered where members of the SC community were victims of crime and atrocities. In Rajasthan, the number is 8,449, and in MP, it is 8,232,” he said.“In terms of atrocities against STs, Manipur tops the list with almost 3,400 registered cases. MP stands second with 2,858 cases, and third place belongs to Rajasthan with 2,453 cases. All of these states, again, have double-engine govts,” Banerjee added.Banerjee went on to add: “BJP wants to implement the Uniform Civil Code. If BJP comes to office, SCs and STs will be deprived of the rights granted to them by the Constitution framed by BR Ambedkar. BJP and RSS want to remove reservations. In MP, two years ago, a BJP neta urinated on an SC man. There are several instances of atrocities against women of these communities where the culprits are garlanded by BJP after securing bail.“Contrasting this with Bengal, Banerjee said, “In 2021, we announced that SCs and STs will receive Rs 1,000 under Lakshmir Bhandar if we took office. By March 2026, that amount has jumped to Rs 1,700. This means each woman from the SC and ST communities will receive Rs 20,400 per year. Electing CM Mamata Banerjee means that over the next five years, each woman will receive Rs 1,02,000.”
