"Chaddha, Nadda, Fadda, Bhaddha": Mamata Banerjee Mocks BJP Chief

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday questioned why the BJP, with all the central forces  at its disposal, could not protect its party chief during his visit to Bengal and wondered if the attack on JP Nadda could have been "planned". It could also be the result of public anger after an accident. "If there was a small incident -- I don't know if there was one. But at a tea shop, one of the 50 cars in your convoy may have hit someone, or something was thrown or it was planned. The police will probe. We will not tolerate all your lies. Enough is enough," Ms Banerjee said.   

The attack on Mr Nadda's convoy -- allegedly by supporters of Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress -- took place yesterday when he was on his way to Diamond Harbour, the constituency of Trinamool MP and Ms Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee.  

In the uproar, BJP leaders are pointing fingers at the law and order situation in Bengal and at its ruling party. Mr Nadda's predecessor in the BJP, Union Minister Amit Shah, has ordered a probe into the security lapse of a Z-Plus category leader. Mr Dilip Ghosh, BJP Bengal chief, wrote to Mr Shah just yesterday about Mr Nadda's security after he was shown black flags in Kolkata.   

"You have so many CISF-BSF commandos. Then how can they touch your car? What about your people who go around with shot guns," Ms Banerjee asked, referring to the death of a BJP worker from injures from a shotgun. Police have denied using that variety of firearm.  

"They are importing a new Hindu Dharma. That Hindu Dharma is not our Hindu Dharma. They are passing off a disgusting dharma as Hindu dharma with which neither you nor I have any thing to do. This is how Hitler became Hitler, this is how Ceausescu became Ceausescu. Mussolini became Mussolini. Today, this Narendra Babu sarkar simply plans drama, creates drama and sends video of the drama they have themselves created to the media. And media has no power to question them. they may of their own drama they send to the media," she added. 

"Every day they (BJP activists) are coming out (for rallies) with firearms. They are slapping themselves and blaming it on the Trinamool Congress. Just think of the situation. They are roaming around with the BSF, CRPF, Army, CISF....then why are you so scared?"

The Bengal government has said that it has received no request to provide security to Mr Nadda. The point was emphasised by Mamata Banerjee. "You don't inform the state, but when there is a problem, you blame the state," she said.

She also questioned the size of the convoy and the following media personnel.  

"Your leaders are welcome. We are against violence," the Chief Minister said at a rally at the foot of the Gandhi statue on Mayo Road in central Kolkata. "But why are 50 cars following you around? And bikes and media cars? So who were standing there? Who threw stones?  Is it planned? You are so smart, you can use satellite watch everything,"  she added.

The BJP, she said, was just being dramatic. "What happens when I go to Delhi? In Delhi, I stay at Derek's house (party MP Derek O'Brien). Every time BJP people gherao the house, she said.

"They (BJP) have no other work. At times Home Minister is here, other times it's Chaddha, Nadda, Fadda, Bhaddha. When they have no audience, they call their workers for doing nautanki," Ms Banerjee said.

The Chief Minister's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, in whose constituency the attack took place, said, "If the people don't like the BJP, what can we do?"