West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday slammed Home Minister Amit Shah for his "undemocratic" and "unconstitutional" remarks that the Triinamool Congress government won't survive beyond 2025 if the Bharatiya Janata Party wins 35 seats in the next year's Lok Sabha polls.
She also called for his resignation over the comments he had made during a rally on April 14.
"On Friday, Amit Shah addressed a rally. That is fine. But how can the Union home minister of the country talk about toppling a democratically elected government of a state? Is the constitution of the country being changed?
"He can never make such a comment that if BJP wins 35 Lok Sabha seats, the state government won't complete the full term," Banerjee told reporters in Kolkata.
The Mamata Banerjee government is scheduled to complete its third term in 2026.
While addressing a public rally at Suri in Birbhum district, Shah set a target for the BJP to win 35 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal and said the incumbent Mamata Banerjee government in the state won't survive beyond 2025 if the goal is achieved.
The TMC supremo claimed Shah's remarks prove that "a conspiracy is being hatched to dislodge the state government", and added that the home minister should not speak like a "goon".
Referring to CBI's summons to her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, Banerjee said, "Are they trying to send out a message that a chief minister can be summoned and questioned? If a CM can be questioned, why can't the home minister be questioned too?" she said.
Banerjee claimed that the BJP won't return to power in the next parliamentary polls, reiterating the appeal to the opposition leaders to unite against the saffron party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
