Frustrated over 'poor' turnout in poll rallies, rivals hatching conspiracy to kill me: Mamata

Mejia (WB), March 16

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of hatching a conspiracy to harass TMC leaders ahead of the Assembly elections in the state and wondered whether the Election Commission is working as per his instructions.

Claiming that Shah is getting "frustrated" by "poor turnout" at his rallies, Banerjee also alleged that the BJP is plotting conspiracies to kill her as her security director Vivek Sahay was removed by the Election Commission after she sustained injuries last week in Purba Medinipur's Nandigram.

Referring to the alleged "attack" on her in Nandigram, Banerjee said no one would stop her from taking forward her battle against the BJP.

"Amit Shah is getting frustrated as there is a poor turnout at his rallies. Instead of running the country, he is sitting in Kolkata and hatching a conspiracy to harass TMC leaders. What do they want? Do they want to kill me? Do they think that they will win this election by killing me? They are wrong," she said while addressing a rally here.

Banerjee also wondered whether the Election Commission had lost its independence, and alleged that the poll panel is working as per Shah's instructions.

"Is Amit Shah running the EC? He is giving instructions to the EC. What happened to their independence? My director, security (Vivek Sahay) was removed (by EC) as per his instructions," she alleged.

Banerjee claimed that Shah, who came back to Kolkata on Monday night from Guwahati and held a series of meetings with the BJP's state leaders, was "hatching conspiracy as he has understood after witnessing poor turnout at his rallies that the saffron party is still miles away from winning the Assembly elections". PTI