I Think BJP Has Copied Quota Point from TMC Manifesto, Says Mamata as She Promises OBC Status to 4 Castes

Assembly Election 2021 News LIVE Updates: Promising to help Mahishya, Tili, Tamul and Sahas get OBC status and Mahatos ST status, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that she think BJP has copied the “reservation for backward Hindu castes” point from TMC manifesto.

“I think BJP may have copied from our manifesto on reservation for backward Hindu castes. They have made that announcement for only two communities, they will not be able to reach all,” she said.

Elaborating on the promise, TMC chief said, “We shall appoint a Special Task Force to examine and propose OBC status to all the communities which are not recognised as OBCs like Mahishya, Tili, Tamul and Sahas. We will also ask the Government of India to grant ST status to Mahatos.”

Banerjee also claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party will not allow people to chant “Jai Siya Ram” (Glory to Sita and Ram). Addressing the Adivasi population, she said that the BJP will not let them take the name of ‘Marang Buru’, whom the Santhals consider as the supreme source of power, but they will have to chant “Jai Shri Ram” (Glory to Lord Ram).

“They (BJP) are saying that you will not be able to practise your religion, you will have to chant Jai Shri Ram. But you will not be able to say Jai Siya Ram,” Banerjee said.

“Ram performed the puja of Devi Durga (in the Ramayana). Maa Durga is much superior to Ram, that is why he worshipped Maa Durga,” the West Bengal chief minister told the meeting. BJP leader and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told an election rally on Tuesday that Banerjee gets livid at the chant of Jai Shri Ram and now she has started visiting temples and is reciting ‘Chandi path’, an ode to Goddess Durga.

Banerjee unveiled a “development-oriented” manifesto for the upcoming assembly polls in West Bengal, promising an income scheme for all families, a student credit card and constitution of a task force to examine the inclusion of several communities under the OBC category. Claiming that her government has reduced poverty in the state by 40 per cent, the manifesto also promised to increase annual financial aid to farmers from Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000.

“For the first time, every family in Bengal will be extended a minimum basic income. Under this, 1.6 crore general category families will get Rs 500 a month, whereas SC/ST category families will get Rs 1,000. The money will be directly transferred to the woman head of a family,” Banerjee said. A new student credit card scheme will be introduced with a credit limit of Rs 10 lakh and an interest rate of only 4 per cent will be charged, the West Bengal chief minister said.

“We will set up 10 lakh new MSMEs and 2000 new big industrial units in the next five years,” she said. A Special Development Board would be set up for the development of Terai and Dooars region in north Bengal, she said.