'Don't compare with Nandigram': Mamata Banerjee on Sandeshkhali case

‘Don’t compare with Nandigram’: Mamata Banerjee on Sandeshkhali case

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that anti-land acquisition protests in Nandigram and Singur shouldn’t be compared with what is happening in Sandeshkhali.

The Trinamool Congress chief said at an event at Khatra in Bankura, “Remember Singur is Singur, Nandigram is Nandigram.”

Not naming Sandeshkhali directly, the Chief Minister said, “Each place has its own characteristics. So do not compare one with the other.”

She further alleged that those comparing the protests at different places were trying to “incite violence”.

“I do not want any bloodshed and any incident of torture anywhere. I do not support any wrongdoing and I have never done so knowingly,” she said.

Bengal’s Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari was quoted by news agency PTI as saying on Saturday, “The situation in Sandeshkhali is like Nandigram. In Nandigram, people fought against land acquisition and here people are fighting against land grab. Here, protests began after women started their movement against sexual harassment, but land grabbing is the second most common allegation in Sandeshkhali.”

The Chief Minister said, “They (BJP) look at a Sikh IPS officer wearing a pagri (turban) and call him Khalistani. They see someone with a Muslim name and call them Pakistani. This shows their real communal face.”

Hitting out at the Centre over the Uniform Civil Code, the TMC chief said, “Everyone has their own customs, but they are saying that all should break their customs and follow only the Uniform Civil Code. Does this mean we have to follow what the Centre says? You cannot eat fish or eggs.”

The Chief Minister said that the BJP “abuses people who work”.Â

“Abuse me as much as you can. As long as the people are with me, I will never care about the abuses,” she added.

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