Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday sent out missives along with the season’s greetings to chief ministers and leaders of the non-BJP parties in the country, urging them to join forces in order to save the nation from the “draconian regime” and called for a meeting to draw up a plan.
Hours after it became clear that the grand alliance of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress had felled the BJP government in Jharkhand, the Trinamul Congress chief sent out her letter.
“Today, I write this letter to you with grave worries in my mind. The citizens of this country, irrespective of caste and creed, particularly the women and children, farmers, workers and members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs and minorities are in the grip of fear and panic for the CAA and the proposed nationwide NRC. The situation is very serious,” she wrote as the chairperson of her party.
Mamata has been leading a mass movement from the front in Bengal and has been repeatedly hitting the streets in fierce opposition to the BJP-led Centre and its push for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
On Tuesday, she is scheduled to lead another march from Swami Vivekananda’s Hedua residence in north Calcutta to Beleghata’s Gandhi Bhavan.
“Today, more than ever, we need to rise against this draconian regime in a united manner. I sincerely and earnestly request all my senior leaders and all the political outfits to stand up against this in a concerted and united manner; let us create peaceful and meaningful opposition to these unholy efforts by the Centre and save India’s democratic soul,” she wrote.
Sources in her party said the letters were sent out to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, NCP’s Sharad Pawar, DMK’s M.K. Stalin, TDP’s N. Chandrababu Naidu, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, BSP’s Mayawati, SP’s Akhilesh Yadav and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav.
The letters also went out to Mamata’s chief ministerial counterparts Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan (since he is a CPM leader, it will help Mamata skirt the ticklish issue of writing directly to the party leadership), Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik, Maharashtra’s Uddhav Thackeray and Andhra Pradesh’s Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy.
Jharkhand’s chief minister-designate Hemant Soren is also on the list.
“Already, protests are being organised at various places by Opposition parties, wherever they have a meaningful presence. I appeal to all of you that at this juncture, let us all work together. Opposition unity must be on one platform. The ruling party is bulldozing this democratic movement by using state machineries and brute force,” Mamata wrote.
“The youths and students have risen against and are facing barbaric and brute force of the Centre. The entire world is watching us, let us all rise to save India of our forefathers and founders. Let us all meet and chalk out a concerted plan to protest and save our democracy,” Mamata added.
