"Why are you so afraid?": Abhishek Banerjee to BJP on TMC's Delhi protest
On the cancellation of the special train to Delhi at the last moment, Banerjee asked why the rail authorities took money from the party had they not ensured the same initially.
TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee (ANI)
KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee asked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led central government about the reason for being afraid of the TMC protest in Delhi on October 2 and 3.
"You have not given permission at Ram Leela Maidan, at Krishi Bhavan, at Lodi estate. Now you have stopped special train (from Howrah to Delhi on September 30). Why are you so afraid?" Abhishek Banerjee said while speaking to reporters in Kolkata on Friday.
Speaking about the declination of permissions by the Delhi Police to the TMC protesters, Banerjee said, "We had first applied for Ram Leela Maidan. We wanted 1 lakh people from Bengal to go to Delhi. We wanted to set up a temporary tent there. They did not give us permission despite writing five letters to them."
"Later, we sought permission to hold a public meeting outside Krishi Bhavan. They did not give us permission. For Rajghat they did not give written permission till now. We wanted to protest at Lodi Estate, but they did not gave us permission," he added.
On the cancellation of the special train to Delhi at the last moment, Banerjee asked why the rail authorities took money from the party had they not ensured the same initially.
"Rail authorities took money to book special train but they declined. Why did you take money from us then? Today around 2.5-3 thousand protesters, 80 per cent of them women have come to Kolkata to go to Delhi to fight for their rights. The BJP has deprived them of their rights," he said.
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inaugurating Vande Bharat trains throughout the country, Banerjee said, "The Prime Minister is flagging off trains every other day but the poor do not have the right to take a ride on those."
Speaking on his summon from the Enforcement Directorate on the same day when the protest has been organised, Banerjee said, "The day on which we will protest, you have summoned me through your Central investigating agencies".
Banerjee also said that the party has got an email from Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh’s department,"We have got an email from Giriraj Singh’s department that he will not be in Delhi. We wrote back that we will meet the Minister of State."
The TMC is scheduled to hold a mega protest at Delhi's Raj Ghat on October 2 and 3, against the central government for delay in release of funds to West Bengal.