PM Modi says Mamata Banerjee shielding corrupt, CM fires back

Kolkata/ Churabhandar: Tearing into West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for staging a dharna to protest a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raid on Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s residence for his questioning in the Saradha chit fund scam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused her of protecting “looters” and warned that neither the perpetrators nor those shielding them will be spared.

Slamming Ms Banerjee’s three-day agitation, he said, “Mahatma Gandhi launched Satyagraha movement against the most powerful to protest discrimination... Netaji Subhas Chandra united people together. But in the country’s history it was seen for the first time that a CM sat on a dharna on the road in broad daylight to protect the looters who had cheated thousands of poor people of their money!”

Addressing his third rally in the state in a week, Mr Modi directly addressed her, “Why are you so panicked over the probe in chit fund scam? Why are you holding dharna supporting those who are facing the allegations of negligence in the probe? I want to assure the families of each and everyone cheated by Saradha, Narada and Rose Valley scams, that ‘chowkidar’ will not spare them. Be it the looters or the protector of the looters, no one will be spared. All will be brought to the door of law. Every penny lost by the people will be accounted for irrespective of how many leaders come together for dharna.”

The TMC boss quickly returned the fire, calling Mr Modi “master of corruption” and a “shame” for the country.

Ms Banerjee, referring to Mr Modi as “Mr Maddy”, said, “The less we talk about this man the better. Mr Maddy is the master of corruption. He is master of arrogance and a shame for the country. I have no words to describe him. His standard is so low that we never expected such a man to be the Prime Minister. We have respect for the chair but not for this man.”

Branding Ms Banerjee’s government as “heartless” and “Communist Part II”, Mr Modi also slammed Congress president Rahul Gandhi for lending support to the Trinamul chief’s agitation against the Central government.

“A dais was set up for the corrupt and their protectors. I want to tell those who shouted slogans of ‘Modi Modi’ from the dais in Kolkata: Where else will you hold dharna to protect the corrupt? West Bengal Congress leaders are crying of anarchy and lumpen-raj in the state. But in New Delhi the brother in law of Mr Vadra is lost in Didi’s tunes. The state government welcomes here those who are facing grave allegations,” Mr Modi said.

He told the rally, “Those you brought in power in West Bengal to get free from the Communist rule have adopted killings as their political culture. It is a fact that Didi is the West Bengal CM but someone else is doing dadagiri here. Didi is eyeing to go to Delhi after leaving the poor and middle-class people in the hands of the syndicate. In Tripura, red flags used to fly high once. But the BJP workers threw away those flags. What happened in Tripura is going to happen in West Bengal also.”

“I share a very special connection with North Bengal. This connection is of tea. The country and the world enjoy the tea produced here with lot of love. You people grow tea, I make tea. But one question comes to my mind when it comes to tea... Why can’t Didi tolerate tea-makers?” the Prime Minister said.

Reacting sharply to Mr Modi’s fulminations, Ms Banerjee told journalists in Kolkata, “He (Modi) is the most corrupt man in the Rafale deal. He is the master of notebandi (demonetisation). Devil chants mantra. He was never a ‘chaiwala’ and doesn’t know how to prepare tea. From chaiwala he has now become Rafalewala. He speaks a bunch of lies.”  

Apart from attacking Ms Banerjee, who is at the forefront of efforts to stitch together a broad-based anti-BJP coalition of Opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Mr Modi also called the proposed “Mahagathbandhan” (grand alliance) a “Mahamilawat” (grand adulteration) of people who had no ideology or vision for the country.

With an oblique reference to Mr Gandhi’s assurance to abolish triple talaq law if the Congress comes to power, the PM said that the Grand Old Party’s “politics of appeasement” has hit a new low in its desperate bid to woo the minority votebank ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

“The Congress’s agenda of appeasement stands exposed. Just like it committed the mistake in Shah Bano case (when Rajiv Gandhi was the PM), it is committing another mistake now. Triple Talaq is about women empowerment and their rights. On Thursday the Congress exposed their lies about it. It does not bother of the Supreme Court order even. It has gone to such a level for appeasement it will not allow the law if it comes to power. Mamatadi, you are a woman. Why are you against it? Which one do you like more: a vote or the Muslim women’s rights?” Mr Modi said.

The Prime Minister exuded confidence that the BJP-ruled NDA would come back to power as the single largest party once again, beating the “grand collusion” of Opposition parties. Mr Modi was addressing a massive BJP rally at Churabhandar in Jalpaiguri after inaugurating the circuit bench of the Calcutta high court in North Bengal.

He also laid the foundation stone of the Rs 1,938 crore project through which the 41.7 km-long Falakata-Salsalabari section of National Highway 31D would be turned into a four-lane.