Muslims are not her vote bank, corruption is, said actor-politician Mithun Chakraborty, reacting to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s comments against him. Chakraborty, who is now a star campaigner of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bengal, said that joining the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress was the “greatest mistake" of his life. In an exclusive interaction, the 73-year-old actor, who was recently honoured with the Padma Bhushan, opened up about his entry into politics, and why he quit TMC and joined the BJP.
Chakraborty has committed to the party that he would campaign for all 42 of its Lok Sabha candidates in the state and will travel across all constituencies in West Bengal. Despite an extreme heatwave across districts, his roadshows are drawing crowds from across party lines in rural Bengal.
Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat his inspirations, the Bollywood veteran said, “Heat is too much. It is very hot, and sometimes my legs are trembling. But if everyone wants something from the party, who will look after the party? I am someone who wants to do everything possible for the party and let them enjoy themselves. I want to work. I am motivated by two people — one is PM Modi ji and another is Mohan Bhagwat ji. I follow them, I have seen their sacrifices. They don’t want to take anything, they just want to give. They love their country so much that they do not want to take anything back. They inspire me. People should not think that they have not offered me anything. They did. They offered me big things, but I said ‘no’ to those proposals. I do not want anything, I am working for them."
‘Joining Trinamool was a blunder’
Chakraborty was earlier seen in the state as a Left sympathiser who was friends with senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders. However, he was never an official member of CPI(M). Years later, he joined the Trinamool Congress and was nominated as a Rajya Sabha member.
“I was officially a Chhatra Parishad (Congress student wing) candidate in college. I won a nine-corner election in college, but since then I had never been active in politics. I was never a member of CPI(M), I was friends with their senior leaders. I officially joined Trinamool and became a member," he said, adding that the decision was a blunder. “I committed the greatest mistake by joining Trinamool. I was told something else before joining and I saw something else happening after I joined. Then I realised that it was a big mistake, a blunder."
Chakraborty then spoke about how he was drawn towards the BJP. “The BJP’s outlook is very big. Their first thing is country. Every political party is into playing to the gallery, everybody is into gimmicks. But the ultimate goal has to be the interest of the country. The BJP is the biggest party across the globe," he told News18.
Chakraborty was conferred with the Padma Bhushan recently and met the PM a few days back. “I sought an appointment and I got this immediately. It was a one-on-one meeting. There were discussions about politics and some personal stuff. But I cannot divulge the details of the meeting," he said.
‘Hurt that I was called gaddar’
With Chakraborty holding at least two roadshows daily in support of the BJP candidates across districts, chief minister Mamata Banerjee sharpened her attack against him. Calling him “another gaddar (traitor)" of Bengal in a public meeting, the TMC chairperson said that she took him in and nominated him as a Rajya Sabha member, but she was deceived.
“She did not congratulate me for the national recognition and I don’t want her to congratulate me. But about the personal attack, when she called me another gaddar of Bengal, I got hurt," said Chakraborty. “I do not target anyone, I don’t go for personal attacks. I do not take the party’s name and not even the candidate’s name. I just talk about my party’s policies and what they want to do. I do not want to show anyone in a bad light. But she has the habit of doing that. Since she abuses people, all her people do that. They follow," he said. “I am also someone’s son, and I too have a family. How can she call names like that? The way she speaks, no chief minister does. She speaks filth and then she calls it a slip of the tongue. But how many times can that happen? I also want to call her ‘gaddari’ of Bengal."
‘Will not spare her now’
The actor also took a dig at the chief minister for corruption allegations against her government. “Her frustration has reached its peak. She is seeing a crowd, and she is feeling insecure, which is not normal. But now I will also not spare her. I will react to all her abuses. She is a queen of lies. She is deceiving the poor people of Bengal. This is the difference. When I joined her party, she used to think about Bengal. Now she has become power hungry," he said. “Muslim brothers and sisters are not her vote bank; corruption is her vote bank. If she wants, she can finish all these corrupt practices in a day. But she does not want that. She shields the corrupt. But, she can’t end this, because she will be out if corruption is out."
The BJP rose from three seats to 77 in the West Bengal assembly because of the Mamata regime’s corruption, he said. “But what about the corruption that the party indulged in during the polling at the booths? Our hands are tied as our party does not want such malpractices to happen."
Check Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3 Schedule, Key Candidates And Constituencies At News18 Website.
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