Mamata Banerjee calls for Opposition unity to oust BJP regime

Kolkata: Calling for a “collective leadership” to oust the Narendra Modi regime from the Centre in the coming Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said all anti-BJP parties have to join hands for the sake of the nation. Speaking at the “United India Rally” here, Banerjee parried the question of who would become the Prime Ministerial face of the opposition, saying everyone is a leader in the proposed alliance.

“This ‘gathbandhan’ (alliance) has been formed to save the people of the nation and give them justice. Everyone has to come together for the sake of the nation. Whoever is powerful at a certain place should be allowed and strongly supported to fight there. One city or state is not important but the country is very important. That’s why collective leadership is vital,” said Banerjee, who brought the leaders of 23 anti-BJP parties on one stage at the mega rally. “There is no need to worry about who will be the Prime Minister. We will take a collective decision on that after the election.

Now there is no question of holding discussions on that. Now, we must focus on removing the BJP from power,” she said. Taking a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for questioning the leadership of the opposition alliance, Banerjee asserted that it is the saffron outfit that has become leaderless. She also requested Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal to organise similar rallies in their respective states to further strengthen the opposition alliance. Terming the BJP-led Central government a “fascist regime, unforeseen in the country’s history”, Banerjee said it is “systematically destroying” the legitimacy of central agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and misusing the paramilitary forces for their benefit.

“The Centre is killing people in the name of NRC (National Register of Citizens) in Assam and harassing the people of entire Northeast by introducing the citizenship amendment bill. They are constantly misleading and bluffing the people of the country. There are no jobs, so what is the point of bringing new reservation bills?” she said. (IANS)

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