Mounting a counterattack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "opposition speaking Pakistan's language" slur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded on Friday that he explain whether he was the PM of "Hindustan or an ambassador of Pakistan".
Banerjee, one of the most bitter critics of the new citizenship law and the proposed National Register of Citizens, berated the BJP-led central government over the divisive measures, saying it was a matter of "shame" that people were being asked to prove their Indian nationality after over 70 years of Independence.
"India is a big country with a rich culture and heritage. Why does the PM regularly compare our nation with Pakistan? Are you the prime minister of India or the ambassador of Pakistan?
Talking about the recent clashes over the citizenship law in Uttar Pradesh that claimed several lives, Banerjee, in an apparent attack on her UP counterpart Yogi Adityanath, said, "Those unfit to rule are governing major states."
Calling her fight against the citizenship law the "second war of Independence", she said, "They (the BJP) just know how to divide the nation on the basis of religion. But my religion is to defend the freedom of people. We have to save the country from bigotry."