Bongaon(WB), Feb 4 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday slammed BJP leaders for allegedly branding CAA protesters as "anti-nationals", and said the recent firings outside Jamia Millia University and Shaheen Bagh were attempts to terrorise the peaceful agitators.

In a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Banerjee said unlike the PM, who "calls himself a 'chowkidaar' (watchman) only during polls", she takes care of people and attends to their problems round the year.

"I don't belong to a group that spreads hatred among masses. It is due to instigation by the BJP leaders, incidents of firing took place outside Shaheen Bagh and Jamia Millia. These are attempts to terrorise the masses.

"They (BJP leaders) are saying 'goli maro' (shoot them), how can you shoot protesters for peaceful agitation? Is this acceptable in a democracy," the chief minister said, while addressing a rally at Bongaon in North 24 Parganas.

Union minister Anurag Thakur, during a rally in Delhi, urged people to raise an incendiary slogan - "traitors should be shot" - after lashing out at the CAA protesters.

Banerjee, who is also the TMC supremo, said her party leaders, unlike those of the BJP, do not attend rallies and programmes with guns and sticks.

Extending her support to the Shaheen Bagh protesters in Delhi, she said some parties are trying to "spread misinformation" on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

"CAA won't grant you citizenship, it will make you a foreigner," the CM insisted.

Referring to the new tax regime proposed in the Union Budget, Banerjee said the BJP-led government at the Centre was trying to fool people "with new tricks every day".

"They (BJP government) are trying to sell off all PSUs, be it the BSNL, the LIC, Ordnance factories and the Railways. Unable to revive the country's economy, they have now chosen the easy way out," the TMC boss added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)