Kolkata/New Delhi: Trinamul Congress supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday launched a high-decibel attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding a national government be formed at the Centre that should be led by any other senior BJP leader like Lal Krishna Advani, Arun Jaitley or Rajnath Singh. The TMC is also planning massive protests across the country from Monday over the demonetisation move and the arrest of its top leaders by the CBI, that it has called “vendetta politics” by the Narendra Modi government.
“We appeal to the President to save the country from the mess. In the current situation, a national government should be formed with another BJP person at the helm. He (Modi) has to go,” Ms Banerjee said. “It is time for President’s Rule at the Centre. Let us set aside our political differences, draft a Common Minimum Agenda and form a national government at the Centre,” she said.
Lashing out at the PM, Ms Banerjee said: “To save the country, let a national government be formed. Advaniji, Rajnathji or Jaitleyji can head it. The current situation is unacceptable. A national government is a coalition government, specially one subordinating party differences to the national interest in a time of crisis, as in Britain under Ramsay MacDonald in the 1930s.”
All institutions were under attack, the West Bengal chief minister said, and added: “This is a dangerous game. The PM is behaving like Kalidas, trying to cut the branch he is sitting on.”
TMC sources said a massive protest was planned in New Delhi starting January 9. “The protest is likely to last at least for three days,” a Trinamul leader said.
All state units would be organising demonstrations against demonetisation from January 9 to 11 in various parts of the country. The protests will be held in all states.
The Trinamul Congress has been on the warpath since the arrest of its Lok Sabha floor leader Sudip Bandopadhyay by the CBI in the Rose Valley chit fund case. Another MP, actor-politician Tapas Pal, was also arrested recently.
The TMC MPs had hit the streets of the national capital on Wednesday and Thursday, making a bid to storm the PMO and courting arrest. Over 30 TMC MPs were briefly detained protesting near the Prime Minister’s residence.
West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra also boycotted the pre-Budget consultations in New Delhi, claiming that there was a “financial emergency” and a “political environment of fear” across the country. Protests were held near the Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex, from where the TMC MPs went to protest outside the Prime Minister’s residence.
