Kolkata, May 16: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday went all guns blazing against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission for violence and curtailing campaigning in the state. Addressing a public meeting in Mathurapur, South 24 Parganas, Mamata Banerjee blamed the BJP for communal violence in West Bengal and said the EC has colluded with the party and is acting on its orders.

"Bengal was never so violent till the BJP entered here. It is the BJP, which is causing communal riots in Bengal, this never happened before," Banerjee said. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief accused the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of interfering in affairs of various institutions and said the Election Commission acted on BJP's direction when it curtailed campaigning in West Bengal. Amit Shah Roadshow Violence: TMC Blames BJP For Damage to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's Bust.

"Last night we came to know that BJP had filed a complaint with EC so that we can't hold any meeting after Narendra Modi's meeting. The EC is a brother of BJP. Earlier, it was an impartial body now everyone in the country says EC has sold out to BJP," Banerjee said. "I feel sad but I don't have anything to say, I am ready to go to jail for saying this. I am not scared to say the truth," she added.

In an unprecedented decision on Wednesday, the poll panel ordered that campaigning for the final round of the Lok Sabha polls on Sunday will end in West Bengal at 10 pm on Thursday, a day before its scheduled deadline. The decision was taken in view of clashes between BJP and TMC workers during Amit Shah's roadshow.

Reacting to PM Narendra Modi's promise that a grand statue of reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar would be built, Banerjee responded: "​Modi today said he will build a new statue of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar but we don't need your help, they were the ones who broke it. If you break the statue of Ambedkar, Gandhi, Tagore and then say you will rebuild it, people of Bengal will not forgive what 'goonda' Amit Shah has done."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 16, 2019 02:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).