Centre didn't help migrant workers, but turncoats were given chartered plane to fly to Delhi: Mamata

West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday criticised ''BJP's brandof politics'', and said it was an irony that the Centre did nothave funds to bear the travel expenses of migrant workers, butcorrupt leaders were flown to Delhi in a chartered plane.

The TMC supremo, training her guns at all deserters,said the turncoats would be defeated in the assembly polls.

She also asked the fence-sitters in the party to quither camp as early as possible.

The CM, without naming former minister Rajib Banerjee-- who recently switched over to the BJP -- alleged thatirregularities have been detected in the recruitment of forestdepartment personnel during his tenure and said ''shops ofcorrupt leaders'' will be shut after the polls.

''A person who was responsible for the recruitment of'Bana Sahayaks' in the forest department indulged in corruptmethods. We will investigate it. Everything will beinvestigated. The person, after indulging in corruption, hasnow joined the BJP. He is now lecturing others,'' she said.

Rajib Banerjee, a forest minister in the statecabinet, crossed over to the BJP last week.

He, along with other TMC defectors, flew to Delhi in achartered plane to join the saffron camp.

The feisty TMC boss further claimed that only the''greedy ones'' are joining the saffron party.

''Those who want to leave the party can go ahead. Thedoors are open. But if you are in the party, you have to workas a disciplined soldier. Let me tell you, the ones who haveswitched political allegiance will be defeated in the assemblypolls, their shops will be closed after the polls,'' she said.

The BJP can buy some corrupt leaders, but it can neverbuy a dedicated member or cadre of the TMC, she asserted,while addressing a party meeting here.

''There are certain leaders who are lobhi (greedy) and''bhogi'' (one who enjoys facilities) They might quit the party,but the dedicated ones will stay,'' she said.

Claiming that MLA tickets are up for sale in the BJP,Banerjee said that her party, on the other hand, ''rewards hardwork and dedication''.

She iterated that the BJP had turned itself intowashing machine, where ''so-called tainted leaders come outclean after joining the saffron camp''.

Taking a dig at the BJP for sending a chartered planeto fly TMC turncoats to Delhi for induction in the saffroncamp, Banerjee said the prime minister owes an explanation tothe nation why it could not bear the travel expenditure ofmigrant workers, even when his government had enough totransport corrupt leaders by air.

''During the COVID crisis, we paid for thetransportation of migrant workers. The BJP government did notpay any money. The prime minister could not spend money onmigrant labourers, who walked hundreds of kilometres to reachtheir homes. More than 100 such workers have died on roads.

''But the Union government has money to fly corruptleaders to New Delhi in chartered planes. The prime ministershould give a reply... This shows the BJP governmentscolours,'' she said.

Terming the BJP as a ''party of liars'', Banerjee said,''Narendra Modi, before 2014 elections, had promised to depositRs 15 lakh in every citizen's bank account, but has anyonereceived a single rupee yet? The answer is no''.

The chief minister, raking up the ''insider versusoutsider'' debate, also said that people of Bengal will rulethis state, and not those coming from Gujarat.

He assured people that they ''do not need anycertificate from the BJP'' to stay in Bengal, and thecitizenship law, for that matter, would not be able to evictthem from the land they belong to.

''All refugee colonies of the state have beenrecognised by the government. We have already started theprocess of granting landholding certificates to families Noone can oust you from here. You were born here and you are acitizen of this country. You don't need the BJP's certificateto prove your citizenship,'' she added.

Reacting to the CM's assertion against Rajib Banerjee,the BJP accused her of ''pursuing vendetta politics to settlescores'' with those who have switched over.

''When Rajib Banerjee was with the TMC, and part of thestate cabinet, he happened to be a person of immaculatecharacter. Now that he has joined the BJP, he became corrupt.

''If indeed he was involved in corruption, then why noaction was taken against him so far? The people of the stateunderstand such tricks very well,'' the safron party's statevice-president Jaiprakash Majumdar said.