HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Aug 28: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hit out at West Bengal Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday for allegedly threatening the northeastern state with unrest.
Sarma claimed that Banerjee was trying to provoke the public to hide her own failures.
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The development follows a viral video of her addressing a gathering on the foundation day of her party’s student wing, Trinamool Chhatra Parishad, where the West Bengal chief minister can be seen making a provocative speech.
“Didi, how dare you threaten Assam? Don’t show your anger to us. Don’t even try to incite India with your politics of failure. It does not suit you to speak divisive language,” Sarma wrote on micro-blogging site X.
In the clip, Banerjee is seen stressing that though Bangladesh and her state share the same language and culture, both are two different countries with West Bengal being part of India.
Alleging that Modi’s party is trying to fuel the situation in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress supremo said, “If Bengal is set on fire, Assam, northeast, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Delhi will also be affected.”
Earlier, Union minister of State Sukanta Majumdar condemned Banerjee’s remarks as unprecedented and threatening and shot off a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah stating that Banerjee “no longer deserves to hold such an important position”.
“It is unthinkable and unprecedented for a chief minister, who is constitutionally bound to rise above partisan attitudes, to make such intimidating statements that pose a threat to democracy,” Majumdar told reporters.
Majumdar argued that Banerjee’s comments could incite TMC supporters to take the law into their own hands and attack opposition members, thereby stifling democratic dissent.
He also criticised Banerjee’s statement suggesting that if Bengal were to be engulfed in flames, neighboring states such as Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, and even distant Delhi would also be affected.
Majumdar described this as contrary to the federal spirit of the republic. “It is unthinkable for an elected Chief Minister to make such a comment. How can she say such things?” he questioned.
Majumdar expressed hope that Banerjee was not alluding to any extremist groups with her remarks. He also criticised her comments about the agitation by R G Kar doctors, viewing them as intimidation and indicative of her fear that the spontaneous protest against the rape-murder of a woman doctor would not cease at her command.
“The honourable court has already upheld the democratic rights of junior doctors. The Chief Minister cannot coerce them into silence until justice is served,” Majumdar added.
Majumdar wrote a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah, condemning Banerjee’s reported comments as a “blatant endorsement of revenge politics from the highest office in the state.”
In the letter, Majumdar accused Banerjee of making anti-national remarks by suggesting that if Bengal were to burn, other states would also be affected.
“This isn’t the voice of someone holding a constitutional position. It’s the voice of an anti-national,” Majumdar stated in his letter, asserting that Banerjee “no longer deserves to hold such an important position” and calling for her immediate resignation. (With inputs from PTI)
