Kolkata, Dec 24 (IANS): Accusing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of trying to "create" confusion in the country about CAA, BJP's Working President J.P. Nadda on Monday alleged she always gives precedence to party interest over national interest.
Addressing a public meeting here, he said the Citizenship Amendment Act is a law that gives citizenship and does not rob anyone of the status.
"Mamata and her party (Trinamool Congress) leaders are trying to create confusion in the country about CAA, they tried to mislead the state," he said.
Nadda ridiculed Banerjee and other leaders for saying that the CAA violates the spirit of Article 14 (equality before the law or equal protection of the laws) of the Indian Constitution and said the legislation "by no means" has any relation to the said Article.
He alleged that Banerjee has the habit of opposing every step taken by the centre. "She only says 'hobe na, hobe na' (this won't happen, this won't happen)".
He said while it is the duty of all parties to be successful in politics and go forward, it is wrong to give precedence to party interest over national interest.
"Mamataji, you have always relegated national interest to the back benches. You have always given precedence to your narrow politics," he said.
In this context, Nadda referred to Banerjee's stringent opposition to repeal of Article 370, scrapping of triple talaq, empowering of the National Investigation Agency to investigate, as also the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and the Ayushmaan Bharat Yojana and the Pradhanmantri Awas Yojana.
"She has opposed every good step. This is her ideology, nature and her way of work.
"And now, she is opposing CAA. She had gone to Matua Mahasangh's (late) head Binapani Devi for blessings. Now she is acting against the interests of the Matuas who would get citizenship now on the strength of the CAA," he said.
Nadda also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to link Manas, Sankosh, Teests and Ganga rivers to prevent floods and aid irrigation.
"Who stopped the project?" he asked, in an obvious reference to Banerjee.
The former Union Minister alleged that Trinamool leaders were taking cut money out of the construction cost of toilets funded under the Swachh Bharat scheme.
"Cut this cut money government in the near future," he quipped, wooing the people.
Noting that people gave the BJP 18 of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats in the April-May general elections, he said: "That was the trailer. In the coming days, show her (Banerjee) the full picture in order to take Bengal forward and to the mainstream. You have to erase all spots which have besmirched Bengal's reputation."