West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech will be his last as prime minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi.
Ms Banerjee, while speaking at a pre-Independence Day programme organised by the TMC at Behala, also proclaimed that opposition bloc INDIA will soon take the field, adding “khela hobe (we will play)”.
‘Khela hobe’ was a slogan that the ruling TMC had coined during the 2021 assembly poll campaign.
“Modiji’s Independence Day speech tomorrow will be his last speech as prime minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort,” she said.
The chief minister also asserted that she believes that opposition bloc INDIA, of which the Trinamool Congress is a member, will emerge victorious in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls
“INDIA bloc will decimate the BJP across the country. In Bengal, the TMC will decisively defeat the saffron party,” she said.
Ms Banerjee indicated that she does not harbour prime ministerial ambitions, stating that “Bengal does not want ‘Kursi’ (political position), it wants to dislodge the BJP ‘Sarkar'”.
The TMC supremo also alleged that there are corruption charges against the BJP government at the Centre, citing the Rafale aircraft purchase and demonetisation of high-value notes among “suspect” deals.
“In Bengal, there have been a few instances of corruption against which we have taken immediate steps. However, the central government has several corruption allegations against it, be it the Rafale jet deal or demonetisation of ₹ 2,000 notes,” Ms Banerjee said