RANAGHAT: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday invoked both 'Mahabharata' and history to hit out at archrival BJP and slammed it for branding CAA protestors as "anti-nationals".
She said the recent firings outside Jamia Millia University and Shaheen Bagh were attempts to terrorise peaceful agitators.
Banerjee called BJP a "party of Dussasanas", the brother of Kaurava prince Duryodhana in the epic 'Mahabharata' and "offsprings of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq", the Sultan of Delhi from 1325-1351 known in history for his eccentric ways.
The TMC supremo addressed two anti-CAA and anti-NRC rallies in Bongaon area of North 24 Parganas and Ranaghat area of Nadia district.
Lambasting the saffron party for trying to forcibly implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register, the TMC supremo, who has been among the strident critics of the BJP, said she will stop it "anyhow".
In a jibe at the prime minister, Banerjee said unlike Narendra Modi, "who calls himself a chowkidaar (watchman) only during polls", she takes care of the people of the state and attends to their problems round the year.
"I don't belong to a group that spreads hatred among masses. It is due to instigation by the BJP leaders, incidents of firing took place outside Shaheen Bagh and Jamia Millia. These are attempts to terrorise the masses.
"Some goons of BJP will come and say goli chala do. Will we accept it? Are we sitting here wearing bangles? A union minister, the UP chief minister are saying goli maro (shoot). How can you shoot a peaceful protester? Is this acceptable in a democracy?" the chief minister said at a rally at Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district.
Union minister Anurag Thakur during a rally in Delhi, urged people to raise an incendiary slogan - "traitors should be shot" - after lashing out at the CAA protesters.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath courted controversy during a rally in Delhi by saying those who attack Kanwariyas (devotees of Lord Shiva) will have to face police bullets.
Addressing another rally at Ranaghat area of Nadia district, Banerjee said "We(TMC) are not a party of Dussasanas like the BJP.
They (BJP) are the offsprings of Muhammad-bin- Tughlaq and people must unite to save the country from them".
Continuing her tirade, she said "Whoever speaks against the BJP is branded a traitor. Those who never did any good for our country have suddenly turned into patriots. We will listen to Gandhiji, Netaji, Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore. Why should we listen to hooligan leaders of the BJP? "They (BJP) are saying that the murderer of Gandhiji (Nathuram Godse) is a big leader. The partys leaders are instigating people to kill, to burn. Is this how a political party should behave?" she said.
Alleging that BJP spreads rumours and creates trouble, she said the people should stand up unitedly against them.
"Never give even an inch of land without a fight," she said.
Banerjee said her party leaders, unlike those of the BJP, do not attend rallies and programmes with guns and sticks.
Referring to the National Population Register, she told the gathering "I again appeal to you (people) not to show any documents. If anyone asks anything, dont give full information. Dont submit any documents. Never believe the riotous BJP."
Extending her support to the Shaheen Bagh protesters, Banerjee said "some parties" (BJP) are trying to spread misinformation on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
"CAA won't grant you citizenship, it will make you a foreigner," she insisted.
"What was the use of voting for the BJP (In the Lok Sabha polls)? They took your votes and gave you NRC in return. They took away your rights. They caused so much distress for banks. They sold the Railways. They sold BSNL. They sold Air India. They sold Burn Standard (a PSU)," she said.
Iterating that she will not let NRC or NPR to be implemented in West Bengal, Banerjee said "NPR is the first gateway to implementing NRC".
Referring to the new tax regime proposed in the union budget, Banerjee said the BJP-led government at the Centre is trying to fool people "with new tricks every day".