You Are the Biggest Thieves: Mamata to Modi Govt on Demonetisation

Demonetisation dragged the poor, middle class into difficult situations, made their lives “miserable”: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (Photo: Reuters)

Upping the ante against the Modi government, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday dared the Centre to arrest her and warned it against "touching" state government officers.

You don’t have to touch anybody. You arrest me. I challenge you, if you have the guts you arrest all of us, nothing will deter us from raising our voice against demonetisation. Demonetisation is a big scam. We want to know what is the deal. We will say it thousand times.

Mamata Banerjee

Banerjee alleged that to weaken state governments, the Centre was targeting its officers. She warned, "If you try to touch any of our officers, you will not be allowed to go scot-free. You have the laws, the state government too has laws in its hands."

"We must win the battle as people are with us. As long as I live, I shall fight alone if required," she said.

She launched an attack on the Modi government by calling it the "biggest thieves" and the BJP under Amit Shah as the "biggest robbers" the country has seen at the Centre since Independence.

Mamata said:

... <i>goonda</i> (goon) and the <i>panda</i> (kingpin) have come together to inflict the biggest scam on the country and its people.... Mister Prime Minister, we want an investigation against your party and your government. The cat is out of the bag now. What was the deal behind demonetisation?

Earlier in the day, she criticised the Modi government over the I-T raid at the residence of Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao, saying such a “vindictive and unethical” act by the central agencies devalued the institution of head of the civil service.

"Why do not they raid Amit Shah and others?" she said.

Strongly criticising the "harassment of opposition leaders, government officials and general people by the central agencies like CBI, ED and IT", Banerjee said such actions would not deter her from criticising it.

BJP Reacts to Allegations

Meanwhile, slamming Banerjee for her "unconstitutional comments" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP hit back, saying "Those who are prime accused in chit fund scams should not talk about corruption".

“What about Saradha and Rose Valley scam? They should be ashamed of themselves. The TMC is an apt example of the proverb ‘the mother of thief shouts the loudest’,” BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh said.

Making Life “Miserable”

Banerjee also alleged that the Narendra Modi and Amit Shah duo was "destroying" the country and its democracy with "communal instigation, revenge politics and anti-people policies".

She said demonetisation has dragged the poor and middle class people into a difficult situation and made their lives "miserable".

People are not being able to withdraw money against 100 days’ work. This should not be paid through Paytm. Centre cannot dictate to people where to keep their money.

"The worst sufferers are those in the unorganised sector. Rural economy is mostly dependent on cooperative banks, but these banks are not getting their supply of money," she said.

She called upon the people to drive away "Modi government to save the country, its democracy and people from utter destruction".

(With inputs from PTI)