Those Dividing Country Into Pieces Not National Leaders: Mamata Banerjee's Reply To Amit Shah

A day after BJP president Amit Shah ridiculed the opposition's bid to forge a grand alliance, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday said those who want to divide the country into pieces cannot be called national leaders.

Speaking at an event to celebrate the 122nd birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Banerjee said "we will be successful only when we are together".

"Such persons are leaders of only a section of people of the country," Banerjee said in an apparent dig at the BJP, without naming the saffron party or any of its leaders.

"Those who want to divide the country into pieces cannot be national leaders," she added.

Kickstarting the party's Lok Sabha poll campaign in West Bengal from a rally at Malda, Shah on Tuesday scoffed at the efforts by opposition parties to forge a grand alliance, saying it is driven by the "greed for power" and with nine potential prime ministerial candidates in their ranks.

Taking a swipe at the opposition rally convened by the Trinamool Congress supremo in Kolkata last Saturday, Shah said bringing in 20-25 leaders on one stage would not serve any purpose as Narendra Modi will become prime minister again.

He had also described TMC government as "facilitators of murders" and made serious corruption charges against it.

TMC had organised a mega rally at Brigade Parade ground in Kolkata on Saturday last in which over two dozen leaders of as many 22 anti-BJP parties had given a call to oust Modi from power in the general elections.

Stating that Netaji had taken people from all communities and races together, from the Hills to those in every other part of the country in forming the Indian National Army (INA), Banerjee said he talked of "togetherness and unity of all people of the country".

She said Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Babasaheb Ambedkar were great national leaders as they stood for the good of all.

PTI