West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dismissed alleged links between the state and mastermind Lalit Jha on Sunday, terming it as a BJP ploy to tarnish Bengal’s image. She referred to it as ‘a serious matter,’ highlighting the major security breach at the new Parliament that occurred on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack.
While speaking to reporters at Netaji Subhas Bose International Airport, she stated, “The Parliament security breach is a serious matter. It was a great lapse… The Union Home Minister has already admitted that. Let them investigate it,” Banerjee told reporters before heading to Delhi, as PTI reported.
— ANI (@ANI) December 17, 2023
Also Read:Security breach in Lok Sabha on Parliament attack anniversary, 2 held | WATCH Video
The West Bengal CM further blamed the suspension of TMC’s MP Derek O’Brien along with 14 others from the Lok Sabha for the rest of the Parliament winter session due to their protests over the security breach issue, saying, “Their (BJP) only job is to malign the image of Bengal. Our state does not support any such illegal things,” she added.
Banerjee is set to participate in the INDIA bloc meeting scheduled in Delhi on Tuesday, followed by a meeting with PM Narendra Modi the next morning regarding the release of unpaid dues owed to West Bengal.
Criticising the BJP-led Centre for withholding dues owed to Bengal, she stated, “Bengal is the only state that they (BJP government in the Centre) have deprived. They have stopped disbursing Bengal’s dues for the 100-day scheme, Awas Yojana, Gramin Sadak Yojana. This is not the Centre’s money only. The state and the Centre share the expenses of such schemes,” she added.
Also Read:Parliament breach: New video shows MPs thrashing intruder who invaded Lok Sabha | WATCH
Highlighting the BJP’s directive to paint health centers saffron, Banerjee accused the party of trying to control people’s choices, including their food and clothing. Expressing dismay over Metro stations and houses being painted saffron, she affirmed her intent to address these concerns.
“Why should we paint the health centers saffron? We have already painted them in blue and white, which is not our party’s color, but our state government’s brand. We were the first to start a color code. Is it necessary at every place to put up the BJP party logo and paint in the BJP color? This is a well-planned conspiracy to confuse people,” she asserted.
Also Read:‘House didn’t stop then, won’t stop now’: Speaker Om Birla as Lok Sabha reconvenes after Parliament security breach
She outlined her schedule, mentioning her Delhi visit, meetings with MPs, and the appointment with PM Modi on December 20, where she plans to be accompanied by some MPs.
Banerjee also referred to the TMC’s protests in New Delhi, where party members, including Abhishek Banerjee, exerted pressure on the Centre to release pending dues. “We have held demonstrations in New Delhi, at the Assembly, and also passed a resolution in the House against this attitude of the Centre,” she said.
In the major security breach during the Zero Hour on Wednesday afternoon, Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D leapt into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery. Upon entry, they released yellow gas and chanted slogans before being restrained by MPs and Parliament staff. Simultaneously, Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi discharged coloured gas while chanting ‘tanashahi nahi chalegi’ outside the Parliament premises. All six identified perpetrators, including Lalit Jha, the mastermind of the plan, have been arrested under the UAPA anti-terror law and remanded to seven days of custody.
(With PTI Inputs)