West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee addressing an event in Jalapaiguri in the presence of Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. (AITC\/Facebook)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took a dig at the Central government, accusing it of withholding funds for the state, during an event where Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal was present on the stage, underscoring tensions between the TMC and BJP before the Assembly elections.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the inauguration of a new building of the Circuit Bench, Jalpaiguri of the Calcutta High Court, Mamata Banerjee said her government has spent over Rs 1,200 crores to set up 88 fast-track courts, out of which 52 are for women, seven POCSO courts, and 19 human rights courts.<\/p>\n
Addressing the Union Minister, Banerjee told Meghwal to \u201cplease not mind” as she accused the Central government of stopping funds that are to be allocated to the state. \u201cThough the government of India stopped these funds, we are still continuing,” she said. \u201cWe have given four acres of primary land to the Calcutta HC in Rajarhat, New Town, to set up a new building.”<\/p>\n
Highlighting that the judiciary remains the sole custodian of the Indian Constitution, the West Bengal CM appealed to the Chief Justice of India to ensure that the Constitution is protected from disaster. \u201cOur democracy must be protected from disaster. Our safety, security, history, geography, and boundaries should be protected. The media should not go for media trials before finalising any case. There is a trend nowadays to malign people,” she said.<\/p>\n
Banerjee also said some agencies are engaging in a deliberate attempt to defame others and appealed to the judiciary to save democracy, the people and the country.<\/p>\n
\u2018Communal Poison\u2019: TMC Hits Back At PM Modi<\/strong><\/p>\nBanerjee\u2019s remarks came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s fiery address in Malda, where he announced that it was time for the state to bring the BJP to power in the upcoming elections. He called Banerjee a \u201cfirewall” between the Centre\u2019s welfare schemes and the state, and also accused the TMC of enabling illegal infiltrators.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe money that the Centre sends for the poor is being looted by TMC leaders,” he said, adding that the Mamata Banerjee government had become \u201can enemy of mine and the people of Bengal”.<\/p>\n
On the issue of infiltration in the state, which has become a political hot potato, the PM said it was important to drive them out. Without naming America, PM Modi said even developed countries are driving out illegal immigrants from their own countries. He asserted that the TMC\u2019s \u201chooliganism” will come to an end in West Bengal and assured strict action against infiltration once the BJP comes to power.<\/p>\n
Hitting back at the PM, the Trinamool Congress said his entire political enterprise runs on communal poison, daily hate broadcasts and polarisation, adding that he had no moral authority to lecture Bengal on harmony.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolitical Tourist @narendramodi spun a fantasy about \u201cdemographic imbalance” and \u201criots” in Bengal, as if the biggest riot-mongerer in Indian politics has any moral authority to lecture Bengal on harmony. Your entire political enterprise runs on communal poison, daily hate broadcasts, and polarisation. And now your party is planting divisive agents of chaos in Murshidabad to stoke unrest,” the TMC said on X.<\/p>\n
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