Wanted to quit as CM, party rejected it: Didi

Kolkata, May 25

Two days after her party suffered serious setbacks in the Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday offered to step down from the post.

Banerjee said that she had expressed her desire to quit the Chief Minister’s post at an emergent meeting of the Trinamool Congress, but her decision was not endorsed by those present at the meeting. “I feel insulted. In the meeting I expressed my desire to step down as Chief Minister, but those present did not endorse my decision,” Banerjee told mediapersons after the meeting.

She blamed polarisation along religious lines for her electoral setback and accused the BJP of engineering the division. “Polling was done in Hindu vs Muslim line. But I cannot subscribe to communal politics. To me, people of every religion are same. While religion can lead to fanaticism, it also has a softer side and I like that. I cannot tolerate any kind of religious fundamentalism,” she said.

The TMC chief also accused the Election Commission of helping the BJP and said not a single request by the TMC was entertained by EC. She alleged that police officers, including the police commissioner looking after the area where Kolkata’s NSCBI Airport is located, were transferred by the EC to facilitate transportation of cash by the BJP to bribe voters. For each vote, the BJP offered Rs 5,000, she claimed.

The meeting was held in the backdrop of BJP’s stunning show in West Bengal, where it won 18 of the 42 LS seats. This was BJP’s best performance in the state since the formation of the party. The TMC won 22 seats this time. The Congress got the two seats. — TNS