RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to discuss upcoming assembly election in the state and after the meeting while briefing the media he announced that his party will support the Trinamool Congress in the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal.
“We will lend support to Mamata Banerjee wherever needed,” Tesjashwi Yadav said, “The priority is to stop the BJP at all costs.”
Asserting that the decision to support the TMC was backed by his father and party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, he appealed to people from Bihar, living in West Bengal to vote for Mamata Banerjee’s party which is in power in the state.
“This election is about protecting Bengal and its culture, which is unique,” he said. “This is a fight to save Bengal’s values.”
Tejashwi also drew a comparison between BJP and Mamata Banerjee, suggesting that while the saffron party failed to generate jobs or help migrant workers amid the coronavirus pandemic, the West Bengal chief minister was helping people “on the streets”.
Tesjashwi Yadav also said ,”Bengal has a distinctive identity in the country. The people of Bengal are very enlightened. Bengal has its own cultural and political identity. I have full faith that the people of Bengal will never allow Bengali culture and identity to end in the hands of outsiders who believe in divisive policy”.
On Monday evening, Tesjashwi Yadav tweeted about his meeting with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing the Centre of attacking the federal structure and constitutional institutions.
The RJD leader further said,”Federal structures and constitutional institutions of the country are continuously being attacked by the central government. The country stands at an important crossroads. The central government is always more busy in contesting elections in different states with the cooperation of its allies except for public welfare works. This kind of activism of Government of India and its entire Council of Ministers has never been seen in any state assembly elections.Our National President Respected Lalu Prasad Ji believes that it is time for the opposition to protect the democratic values of the country, commitment of ideology and stable politics of principles.The country stands at an important crossroads. It is time to save the constitutional values of freedom, equality, social justice, reservation, regional culture, language, living, cultural identity and secularism in the interest of democracy”.
Mamata Banerjee thanked Tejashwi Yadav for the support, and said that he had done well in the Bihar Assembly elections in November. “The BJP cheated in Bihar and stopped him from winning,” the West Bengal chief minister said. “The RJD was defeated by fraud. It will form government in Bihar sooner than later.”
“I congratulate Tejashwi. He is a young leader. The BJP used all kinds of tricks to stop him from winning the Bihar elections. But I know he will lead Bihar very soon. The way Laloo Prasad Ji is suffering in jail is unfair. The BJP should get the message. Wherever Tejashwi is fighting, I am fighting. And where I am fighting, he is fighting. You (BJP) cannot win this election no matter how hard you control the media and how big you talk,” Mamata Banerjee added.
The assembly elections to the 294 seats in West Bengal will be held in eight phases from March 27 to April 29. The results will be declared on May 2. The state will see a three-cornered fight between the Trinamool Congress, the BJP and an alliance between Left parties, Congress and the Indian Secular Front.
Bengali