West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on August 14 said that the Independence Day speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Tuesday would be his last as the Prime Minister of the country.
“Modiji’s Independence Day speech tomorrow will be his last speech as Prime Minister… Next year, Team INDIA will hoist the National Flag at the Red Fort,” Ms. Banerjee said, addressing an event at Behala in Kolkata on the eve of Independence Day.
The Trinamool Congress chairperson said the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which her party is part of, would win the Lok Sabha election next year by decimating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) across the country.
Ms. Banerjee reiterated that “Bengal does not want any chair” and urged the people of the country to support those from the Opposition who are contesting against the BJP.
The Chief Minister said no one was independent under the BJP rule. “Are the State governments independent? They are bulldozing us and stopping the flow of funds,” she said.
She said that instead of paying respect to Mahatma Gandhi, the BJP was paying respect to those who killed him. She targeted the BJP-led Union government on several issues such as demonetisation and Rafale aircraft purchase and said that it was knee-deep in corruption.
