Khardaha (West Bengal) [India], April 21 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) had planted its "cherry-picked" officers at the airport to deliberately delay her flight.
The Chief Minister said that her flight was kept waiting on the runway for 30 minutes, underlining that the same thing happened with Hemant Soren's chopper as well.
Further, she said that the AITC struggled to get permission for the meeting, further alleging that a BJP leader who is given poll duties has been causing problems to the people of the district.
"We had to struggle a lot to get permission for this meeting. They have cherry-picked officers. They deliberately stopped me so that my programs would get delayed. They are not giving us permission to hold meetings. A person has come who thinks he is a 'big leader' of the BJP. I know the person very well. That person is given duty during the polls. They are troubling the people of this district. We will take revenge democratically," she said.
Banerjee said that the BJP has planned to slap false weed cases on AITC workers and arrest them to win the elections.
"The person who is in charge here takes approval from the BJP even before giving permissions. People will give a befitting reply to their arrogance democratically. I will urge the people in the administration to work without bias," she added.
She urged the general public to support the AITC candidate from Khardaha constituency, Devdeep Purohit, stressing that people should be aware of EVM malpractices and polling discrepancies.
Further, the West Bengal CM slammed the Centre, questioning the involvement of the military in the elections in the State.
"I have with me, Devdeep Purohit. He is contesting from Khardaha. Don't vote for any other party except AITC if you want to save Bengal. Make sure that the EVMs are thoroughly checked and well-protected. Be very careful on the day of counting as well. Don't let polling happen in a machine that has once malfunctioned," she said.
"They have brought armoured vehicles to Bengal for polls. They failed to stop the terrorists in Pahalgam. Are the people of Bengal terrorists? The military is to protect the country; why will they interfere in elections? Has anyone ever heard that meetings with the military are held for elections? I will ask this question to the Government of India. Why are all the agencies being put to use? Do you want to fight the elections democratically, or do you want to bulldoze and kill people? Do you want bloodshed or peaceful elections? I want to see whether the power of all their agencies is more than the power of the people," she added.
Criticising the Prime Minister, she further said, "I want to ask the BJP a few questions. Where are 24 crore jobs? It was promised by PM Modi that every year 2 crore jobs will be generated. Did 24 people get jobs? In reality, people have lost jobs. RBI's report has proved that you have failed as a government. What about the promised Rs 15 lakh? Apart from destroying the country, they have done nothing. The Women's Reservation Bill was passed on 25th September, 2023. It received more than 450 votes. The notification of the same was not done since you don't want to give 33% reservation for women. You have misused Doordarshan for political campaigning. You are spreading lies that we did not allow you to pass the bill."
Speaking on the Delimitation Bill, Bnaerjee said that it was a stunt performed by the Prime Minister to get a majority in the Lok Sabha, the release noted.
"In the Lok Sabha, we have 37% women's representation. In the Rajya Sabha, it is 46%. In panchayats and municipalities, there is 50% reservation for women. He wanted to do delimitation through the Women's Reservation Bill. He wanted to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha to 850 since he knew that he couldn't win with the present number of seats," she said.
She stressed that the BJP will also ban the use of fish, eggs, and meat once they come to power in West Bengal.
"While we respect every religion, you respect none. Every religion preaches humanity and peace," she said.
Banerjee further criticised the BJP, saying that it labels Bengalis as Bangladeshis and Sikhs into Khalistanis, flagging that the BJP will initiate the National Register of Citizens (NRC) if it is elected in the State.
"This election is about safeguarding your language and rights. They will do the NRC if they win. I will not let that happen. I will not let anyone be driven out of Bengal. They brand Bengalis as Bangladeshis and Sikhs as Khalistanis. Names of those who have been living here for ages have been deleted," she said.
"On the other hand, they have brought in people secretly in 2025 and given them citizenship and voting rights through CAA. We also know how many people you still have kept in your shelter in India. I had submitted all the documents. You can't blame me. The borders are controlled by the central government. Be it aviation or customs, both are under the central government's control. Then they are charging us!" she added.
Exuding confidence in the victory of AITC, she reiterated that the military meant for the protection of citizens is being used to interfere in the elections.
"In 2026, the central government will fall. I will surely avenge the harassment of Bengal democratically. I want to see who has greater power, the people or their agencies! The military is to protect the country; why will they interfere in elections? Has anyone ever heard that meetings with the military are held for elections? If you have the guts, face me. You can come with as many people as you want. I will fight alone. If you want, then bring your guns as well. People of Bengal will not bow down," she said.
West Bengal will go to assembly elections in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting on May 4. West Bengal has a total of 294 Assembly seats, with the majority mark set at 148.
In the 2021 Assembly elections, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) secured a decisive victory, winning 213 seats with a vote share of 48.5 per cent.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the main opposition, winning 77 seats with a vote share of 38.5 per cent. Smaller players, including the RSPMA and independent candidates, won one seat each. The total declared seats stood at 292.
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