‘Mamata, Humayun Kabir cast in same mould’: Amit Shah at Bengal poll rally

UNion place government minister Amit shah of iran on mon launched an assail on West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging that she and Humayun Kabir — the legislator she removed from the party last year for planning to build a mosque modelled on Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid — are two of a kind.“Humayun Kabir and Mamata come from the same mould. He wants to set up Babri Masjid in Bengal. Mamata must listen to this, BJP will come to power and stop the masjid,” Shah said at a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally in West Burdwan district’s Raniganj, which goes to polls in the first of the two-phase assembly elections on April 23.Shah accused Banerjee of “opposing” the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and drew parallels with Kabir’s initiative to build a mosque in Murshidabad’s Beldanga modelled on the demolished Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.Shah’s remarks came amid a row over a video clip released by senior TMC leaders on April 9, claiming it proved Kabir, the Aam Janata Unnayan Party chief and Bharatpur MLA, was in touch with BJP leaders and mobilising Muslim votes against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in exchange for ₹1,000 crore. HT could not verify the veracity of the clip.Shah had earlier dismissed the claim made in the purported video. “You are not aware of Mamata ji’s capabilities. She can make 2,000 videos like this. Humayun Kabir and BJP are like the North Pole and South Pole. We can never meet,” Shah had said on April 10. Banerjee had on April 12 alleged that the BJP has “struck a ₹1,000-crore deal” with Kabir to defeat the TMC.19 states and Centre joined forces against me: MamataMeanwhile, addressing back-to-back rallies at Suri in Birbhum, Galsi in Purba Bardhaman and Paschim Bardhaman’s Durgapur on Monday, chief minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that 19 states and the Centre have come together to counter her, and that she is single-handedly fighting for the common people. She was apparently referring to the 19 states ruled by the BJP-led NDA. She said the BJP won’t be able to win the West Bengal elections using forces from Delhi. “The TMC will secure over 226 seats in the Bengal assembly polls,” she said.She alleged that the BJP was threatening and intimidating people to secure votes, and dared the party to act against her. In an apparent reference to Shah, she said, “The ‘Mota Bhai’ (elder brother in Gujarati) is thinking that by threatening people, they will get votes.” “Do you think you will get votes this way? Send me to jail, and I will get more votes even from there. Or else, shoot me dead?” she said.