JHARGRAM: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said tribals in ethnic strife-hit Manipur are facing a crisis and there is none to listen to their plight.
Paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi on the anniversary of the Quit India movement, the chief minister said, "We pledge to make BJP quit Delhi."
Banerjee, who is on a three-day administrative tour of Jhargram, blamed the BJP-led central government for failing to address the situation in the northeastern state and urged people across the globe to pray for them.
"The tribals in Manipur are facing a crisis. There is none to listen to their plight. Dalits are tortured in India and the Centre is unmoved, unfazed. They have no right to be in power as they have tortured Dalits. People are being killed in encounters. They are planning to break the country into pieces through planned communal riots," Banerjee said.
She was speaking at an administrative programme in Jhargram, mostly inhabited by tribals, to celebrate the 'International Day of World's Indigenous Peoples'.
"We had told the British to quit India. Today, we want the BJP-led government at the Centre to quit Delhi. On Quit India Day, let us pledge today to teach BJP a lesson after their betrayal as the Central government. Removing the BJP from the Centre is my only goal for the welfare of the people," she said.
In an apparent reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's using Mahatma Gandhi's 'Quit India' slogan and attacking the opposition bloc INDIA, Banerjee said, "We don't need to quit.We belong to this country."
The Trinamool Congress supremo criticised the PM, claiming he failed to fulfil the promises he had made to the people of the country before the elections.
Denouncing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Banerjee said, "There are various castes and practices among different communities and religions. Suddenly, they (the BJP) have started talking about the need to introduce UCC. Why should someone follow their set of rules while getting married? We won't accept the UCC," she said.
People should have the freedom to observe their customs and religious practices according to their wishes, Banerjee stressed.
The TMC chief accused the CPI(M), Congress and the BJP of having an 'understanding' in West Bengal.
"It is extremely unfortunate that on the national front, CPI(M)-Congress are with INDIA but it seems they are with the BJP here. If they continue this, our fight in Bengal will be against CPI(M) and Congress, along with our fight against BJP," she said.