)
What was billed to be a platform to launch Bannerjee's national ambitions with Hazare on the dais turned out to be just a Trinamool Congress rally.
ALSO READ: India will change if Mamata at its helm, says Anna Hazare
No reason was given for the absence of Hazare, who arrived here only last night ostensibly to attend the rally, but sources said he was unwell.
Hazare, who has expressed his support to Trinamool Congress and Bannerjee brushing aside his protege Arvind Kejriwal's party, had earlier in the day said he would attend the rally.
ALSO READ: Bengal shows the way: Mamata
No crowd, no Anna at Trinamool rally in New Delhi. Photo: Dalip Kumar / Business Standard
Later, TMC leader Mukul Roy went to Maharashtra Sadan here and met Hazare.
At the thinly-attended rally in Ramlila ground, Banerjee targetted both Congress and BJP besides arch-rivals Left parties.
She singled out Modi without naming him saying the "leader of Gujarat" is "communal" and rubbished his claim about development in the state under his leadership.
ALSO READ: Amid Mamata-Anna alliance, West Bengal Lok Ayukta lies defunct
"The BJP says it will come to power. But I ask how will it come to power... The face of Gujarat is communal. Not the people but the leader of Gujarat is communal," she said.
Ruling out support to either BJP or Congress, she said the two parties "form a syndicate for selling the country. They can come together and CPI(M) also has an understanding with these parties. We will not support the Congress, BJP or the CPI(M) and not even support anyone who has been with them."
On the absence of Hazare, Mamata later told reporters, "It was not a political meeting. It was a social meeting. He was invited. I made the commitment to come here and I came."
She further said that she came to the rally to keep her promise, but she did not have any idea why Hazare did not come to the rally.
"It was his rally. I had come here at his request. I do not know why he did not come. I have no idea," she said.
Dodging questions on Hazare's absence, she said," I have respect for Annaji. He is a a senior person. I respect his desire."
On the poor turnout at the Ramlila ground, she said, "People in this ground are brought from outside. We could also have done the same. But, this is election time."
Replying to a question, she said, "TMC is fighting the battle alone and it will continue to do so. In panchayat election also, we contested alone. We will also fight in Gujarat, Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh."
The rally, which started after a long delay, was attended by yestyear cine star Biswajeet. Palamu MP Kameshwar Baitha formally joined the party.
Mamata said at the rally that Biswajeet would contest the Lok Sabha election.
She said "there were rains yesterday but still people came for the rally. Even these ten people will grow to 10 lakh."
Taking a dig at Modi she said the infant mortality rate is less in Bengal than Gujarat. While the national average is 44, in Gujarat it is 41 but in West Bengal it is 32, she said.
She also claimed the GDP rate in Bengal is better than the country's growth of eceonomy rate. "The country's GDP is 4.9%, ours is 7.71% despite the huge debt incurred by the Left Front government."
The West Bengal Chief Minister also claimed that she faces threat to her life from rival parties including the CPI(M), BJP and Congress but "nobody can suppress me".
She alleged that good people were not allowed to take part in politics and targeted through the CBI, ED or the Income Tax departments.
In an apparent reference to the AAP government in Delhi, she said her party gave free water to the common public and did not just subsidise it.
