Hindi on lips, CM hits heartland

Mamata pats Akhilesh on the cheek at Lucknow airport, where she was greeted by the Uttar Pradesh chief minister

Meghdeep Bhattacharyya, TT, Calcutta, Nov. 28: Mamata Banerjee today vowed to remove Narendra Modi not only from power but also from politics, setting the tone for her national movement against the BJP-led Centre's demonetisation drive.

Hours before boarding a flight to Lucknow, where she is scheduled to address a rally tomorrow, the Bengal chief minister led a march attended by around a lakh participants from College Square to Esplanade in central Calcutta.

Mamata reached Lucknow late this evening and was greeted by her Uttar Pradesh counterpart, Akhilesh Yadav.

In Calcutta, the Trinamul chief told the gathering that the Prime Minister "has been acting like a dictator".

"Such a step has not been taken by anyone in the history of the world. This is worse than Tughlaq (Mohammad Bin Tughlaq), worse than Hitler (Adolf Hitler).... He has been acting like a dictator for sometime. Modiji suddenly felt the need to act like a god, a god of gods. He has been acting on a whim without factoring in the consequences his actions would bring on the people," she said.

Mamata made parts of her speech in Hindi, in keeping with her attempts to connect with the pan-India audience.

"Here today, I take the pledge to remove Modi from politics in this country, irrespective of whether I live or die," she said, before raising slogans such as " tanashahi nahi chalegi (dictatorship will not be allowed)", "note-bandi vapas lo (withdraw the demonetisation drive)" and "Modi sarkar, hai hai (Modi government, shame shame)".

After the rally in Lucknow tomorrow, Mamata is expected to conduct similar marches in Varanasi, Modi's Lok Sabha seat, and Patna over the week. She is also likely to hold road shows in the NDA-ruled states of Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Mamata said the agitation was not Trinamul's alone but that of the common people, attempting to widen the scope of the protest.

"Mind you, this is not a Trinamul protest, this is a people's protest. People from all walks of life and civil society members from numerous fields have joined us today. We are setting the tone for the movement for the rest of the country," she said.

Mamata then went on to allege a leak of information on the demonetisation by the Centre. She also demanded an explanation from Modi on the BJP's alleged purchase of real estate and jewellery shortly before the drive was announced on November 8.

The Trinamul chief said she would have never taken the demonetisation decision were she the Prime Minister, hinting at her national ambitions ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

"I would have never taken such a decision. If I did, somehow, make such a grave mistake, I would not have hesitated to roll it back," she said.

Mamata said the next time she conducts a protest in Delhi, she would hold it outside the Prime Minister's residence.

"Outside his door, the next time. Not Jantar Mantar. Outside Modiji's door," she said.

"In trying to force the people to move from ATM to Paytm, in trying to force them into going cashless, you have become faceless and baseless, Modibabu. Everyone has black money and is a black marketeer, only you are white, pristine white, Modiji," she added.

Mamata said darker days lay ahead for the people later this week, as they would face immense difficulty in withdrawing money after salaries are credited to bank accounts.

She alleged whoever was trying to protest the Modi government's failures was being threatened by central probe agencies.

"By doing this, you can, maybe, get some parties on your side, but not all of them. Even if you get everyone else, I will still be there to fight till the end. I will not fear you, Modiji. Remember this," she said.