NDA allies ‘sacrificed’ ministerial berths for money: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata, July 21 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday alleged that the BJP allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre “sacrificed” ministerial berths for money.

“Have you ever heard such a thing that money was offered instead of ministries? They are cowards, greedy and shameless. They succumbed to the money. They sacrificed their own identities,” the Chief Minister said while addressing the Martyrs’ Day rally in Kolkata.She added that she agrees with Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav that the Central government will not “last long” and will be “toppled” soon.“BJP does not have a majority now. The way the incumbent Central government came to power by misusing the central investigation agencies and the Election Commission of India, it cannot last for long,” the Chief Minister said.She said that following the performance of Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP should have voluntarily opted out.She said that the BJP, Congress and CPI-M have a “clandestine understanding” in West Bengal, adding that their only target is to create hurdles for development activities in the state.“I am ready to offer 10 lakhs state government jobs. But whenever I try to announce such schemes for the people, they (BJP, Congress and CPI-M) approach the court with Public Interest Litigation (PIL). Sometimes they try to snatch jobs while other times they try to block the reservation facilities under backward class categories. But we are fighting them legally in the Supreme Court and will continue to do so. Under no circumstance we would allow their ploy to succeed,” the Chief Minister said.On the ongoing unrest in neighbouring Bangladesh, the Chief Minister said that the state government would not hesitate to give shelter to those coming from there and seeking refuge in West Bengal.“I will not talk about what is going on in Bangladesh. It is the Central government’s job to talk about the issue. But if anyone knocks on our door for shelter, we will not hesitate to give them refuge. There is a directive from the United Nations that if anyone becomes a refugee in any country, the neighbouring countries should show respect towards them. We have deep sympathies for the people of Bangladesh,” the Chief Minister said.–IANSsrc/dan