Mamata says no pardon for TMC defectors: Betraying party like abandoning mother
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday delivered a scathing warning to defecting MLAs, MPs and councillors, comparing party betrayal to abandoning a mother in
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday delivered a scathing warning to defecting MLAs, MPs and councillors, comparing party betrayal to abandoning a mother in sickness. Addressing a virtual meeting of the North Kolkata District Trinamool Congress, she sought to energise workers and cadres amid what she called a '"relentless barrage of oppression" by the BJP-led Centre. Referring to leaders who have left the party, Banerjee said, "It is like a mother who raised you all your life; when she falls ill, you refuse to care for her. There is no pardon for traitors. They might save themselves today, but in the future, the people will demand an account from them, and so will the workers." Read Full Story Opening her address with greetings to party workers, the former Chief Minister described the current political climate as one of fear and economic distress. "It has been a relentless barrage of oppression, case after case. People are driven to suicide and gripped by fear; hawkers' stalls are being demolished. Many are losing their jobs and seeing their life's dreams shattered,” she said. Banerjee asserted that only a united Trinamool could offer protection from the crisis. "And regarding this crisis -- a crisis created by the BJP, not us -- you know how our workers have fought, risking their lives and everything they have.
From booth-level workers and BLOs to the grassroots cadresit is at the cost of their lives and sacrifices that today's victors have come to power." The TMC chief launched her sharpest attack on leaders who switched sides, accusing them of abandoning the party out of fear for legal cases and family assets. "Yet, some switch sides merely to save themselves and their families. They lack patience; they abandon us to join the very people we fought against. It would have been better if they had simply left and joined the BJP -- we would have had no problem with that. But to betray the party is unforgivable." Questioning the defectors' claim of 'saving workers,' she said: "Some claim they left to ‘save’ the workers, yet they cannot even enter their own areas. Are they saving the workers, or are they saving their own money? Are they bringing back your money? No, they have sold out everything: religion, communal harmony, and values, and now they are strutting about arrogantly." Banerjee warned that deserters would be politically isolated: "To those who still possess good sense, I say: come back. And let me make it clear to anyone thinking they can escape this situation: you will end up belonging nowhere -- neither here nor there." The former Chief Minister repeatedly emphasised the role of grassroots workers in building the party.
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