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?
"Why do you have to refer to Pakistan in every issue? You (Modi) should rather speak of Hindustan. We don't want to be like Pakistan. We love Hindustan," she said, addressing an anti-CAA rally in this North Bengal town.
Modi, while defending his government's position on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, had on Thursday dared the Congress and its allies to raise their voice against Pakistan's "atrocities" on its religious minorities over the past 70 years. He has often accused the opposition of "speaking the language of Pakistan".
The BJP was quick to launch a counteroffensive.
"Leaders of Pakistan had (during Partition) sought a plebiscite on Kashmir. Mamata Banerjee also recently sought a UN-monitored referendum on the CAA. It only proves who is speaking the language of Pakistan," state BJP chief and Lok Sabha MP Dilip Ghosh said.
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Banerjee, also the TMC supremo, alleged the prime minister and his party repeatedly spoke of Pakistan to divert public attention from the burning issues like economic slowdown and growing unemployment.
"If someone says give me a job as I have no work, PM says go to Pakistan. If someone says we don't have industries, he says go to Pakistan. Pakistan can talk about and take care of itself as much as it wants...we should talk about India, our motherland, where all of us were born..." she said.
The TMC boss vowed to continue her protest till the new citizenship law was repealed.
She accused the BJP of creating "confusion" over the implementation of a pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC).
"On one hand, the prime minister says there will be no NRC. On the other, the union home minister and other BJP ministers claim the exercise will be conducted across the country...they are creating confusion over the whole issue," she added.
Responding to the accusation by BJP leaders that she was "anti-refugee" because of her stiff opposition to the CAA, Banerjee told them not to lecture her.
"They (BJP) are lecturing me and asking me to be more compassionate about refugees. They are saying Matuas (a Hindu dalit community from Bangladesh that migrated to India) will get citizenship.
"But they are already (Indian) citizens. They have voted several times in the past. So many governments have been formed with their votes. Why do they need to prove their citizenship again? It's a matter of shame," she said.
Banerjee demanded that the Centre explain if Aadhaar was not a proof of citizenship, why was it linked to the government's welfare schemes and bank accounts of individuals at Union government's insistence.
"You (BJP) said nobody will lose their citizenship. But now you are also saying neither PAN nor Aadhaar will be proof of citizenship. Then what will work? An amulet from the BJP or an amulet from Pakistan?" a combative Banerjee said.
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."
She alleged anti-CAA protesters and students were tortured and killed in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The Karnataka chief minister promised monetary assistance to the families of protesters killed in police firing, only to go back on his word, she said.
"Trinamool may be a poor party but we will help them," she asserted.
Trinamool Congress's trade union wing INTTUC recently handed over cheques for Rs 5 lakh to the families of each of the two protesters who were killed in Mangaluru violence.
Banerjee, who has already held seven protest marches and three public meetings across the state against the CAA, reaffirmed her commitment not to allow enforcement of the amended citizenship law, conduct of NRC or the updation of the National Population Register in her state, calling them "divisive and polarising".
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