Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday launched an all-out attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party warning that central agencies would target the BJP after the 2024 general elections. She also claimed the BJP-led government at the Centre would last only three more months.
She accused the party of what she called “saffronisation of the country” and claimed the Indian cricket team was asked to wear saffron practice jerseys. The BJP described the remark as ‘dirty politics’.
“Central agencies targeting opposition leaders at present will go after the BJP following the 2024 elections,” she told party workers.
Mamata Banerjee’s party Trinamool is part of the INDIA bloc — an alliance of 28 parties formed to stop the BJP juggernaut in the 2024 general elections.
“This government at the Centre is there for three more months,” she added.
Mamata Banerjee on India’s WC loss
Mamata Banerjee said India would not have lost their world cup final against Australia had the match been played in Kolkata or Mumbai.
“Saffron is the colour of ‘tyagis’, but you are ‘bhogis’,” she said. She claimed the Indian cricket team refused to wear the jerseys during matches.
“They are trying to paint the entire country saffron. We are proud of our Indian players, and I believe that we would have won the World Cup if the finals had taken place in Kolkata or Wankhede (in Mumbai),” she added.
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BJP slams Mamata Banerjee’s WC remark
The BJP slammed the remarks. The party’s leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused Banerjee of doing dirty politics.
“Our players performed their best and won ten out of eleven matches and this is not an election, this is a game… Now dividing it in the name of parties, dividing it in the name of states, the mentality of Mamata Banerjee is that the people of Gujarat are bad because the match was played there….she is saying that we lost because of wearing saffron colour, saffron colour is also in our flag, now you will remove the colour from the flag of India also?” he said.
Bengal BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul called the remarks petty politics.
“It is very unfortunate. This kind of petty politics can be expected from leaders like Mamata Banerjee or Rahul Gandhi. She has insulted the efforts of our Indian team which has won the last 10 matches consecutively without a single defeat. What about their efforts? It is only because of the stadium… but she is forgetting that she was also a part of the same party, Congress. ..Now she is talking about the saffron colour, the stadium. The people of West Bengal are suffering because of you. Your family heads sports institutions in West Bengal, what qualifications do they have to lead a sports association? And what results have you got for West Bengal in the last 12 years? So, stop doing such petty politics,” she said.
Also read: ‘India would have won Word Cup if..’: Mamata Banerjee’s dig at BJP
Banerjee today said the world cup was attended by sinners.
“The Indian team played so well that they won all the matches in the World Cup, except the one attended by the sinners,” she said, without naming anyone.
Banerjee also claimed the BJP was planning to expel Mahua Moitra from Parliament over the cash-for-query scandal. She said Moitra would become more popular.
“She will become more popular as a result. Whatever she used to say inside (Parliament), she will now say those things outside. Would anyone do something like this three months before the elections if he is not stupid?” Banerjee said.
With inputs from PTI, ANI
Aisha Patel is a dedicated Indian correspondent with a deep understanding of the nation’s diverse affairs. With a background in Indian culture, politics, and current events, she provides in-depth analysis and timely reporting on domestic issues within India.
