In a strong-worded poem against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attacked the Narendra Modi-led government on Friday, saying who has given "you" the right to "trample" upon "my rights".
In the poem she posted on Facebook, titled "Adhikar", she called the contentious decisions "instrument of hate", adding the country never taught the people to discriminate. She wrote the poem in Bengali and English. The Bengali poem is titled "Adhikar" and the English one is called "Our Right".
In the poem, she expresses disbelief at the current state of affairs in the country, saying, "the country has become strange, not my land of birth!"
Ms Banerjee goes on to say that India "never taught us discrimination".
The poem rallies against the government and questions it for taking away rights.
"Who has given you the right to trample upon my rights? Shame on you and your might," reads the poem.
The Trinamool Congress chief calls the NRC and the new citizenship law as "instruments of hate" and questions the centre why should poor people stand in queues again. It is an apparent dig at demonestisation when people stood in queues for long hours to exchange old currency.
She condemned "dividing people" and affirms all divisions will be futile. Saying "human rights are for all", Mamata Banerjee, in the poem, calls for "no to hate" and "yes to rights".
Take a look at the poem here:
Mamata Banerjee has been a staunch critic of the Modi government and the NRC and citizenship law for long. She has reiterated on many occasions that she would not implement both in Bengal.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act makes religion the test of citizenship in India. The government says it will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries to get citizenship if they fled to India because of religious persecution. Critics say it is designed to discriminate against Muslims and violates the secular principles of the constitution.
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