Dilip Ghosh slams Mamata Banerjee for her statement on PM Modi

Kolkata: A day after West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee remarked that the Prime Minister’s criticism of her government was unexpected, BJP state unit president Dilip Ghosh on Friday said that she had also verbally attacked the PM on several occasions.

Mr Ghosh said Ms Banerjee should ponder why the PM had to express concern about the prevailing situation in Bengal.

“She had slammed the PM and used bad words against him on many occasions,” Mr Ghosh said at a press conference here.

Ms Banerjee on Thursday had said, “We never expected the Prime Minister to speak in this manner... The Prime Minister has spoken against us but I have not reacted because of courtesy. He has spoken on whatever he was briefed by the BJP workers without cross-checking facts.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday came down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee government over the violence during panchayat elections in West Bengal, saying democracy was “murdered” for narrow political interests. Stating that there were some “isolated incidents” of violence during the May 14 panchayat elections, she had said 10 out of the 13 persons killed on poll day were TMC supporters.

Rebutting Ms Banerjee’s charges on BJP’s “link” with Maoists, he said it was a “false propaganda” and that “she had taken the help of the Maoists” herself before coming to power. Mr Ghosh also rubbished TMC’s claim of development in “Jangalmahal” where Maoists were very activie in the past and said that the people’s condition remained the same as it was earlier.

“That is why the tribal people there had given their reply through the ballots in the panchayat poll and the BJP did well in those areas,” he said.

“We will defeat the TMC in the Lok Sabha election there,” he said. Accusing the TMC of resorting to violence during the rural poll, he said that the BJP won many seats in gram panchayats and panchayat samitis but wondered why it was not reflected in the zilla parishads.

“We were in a position to win 4/5 zilla parishad”, he said adding that BJP’s vote percentage has gone up manifold. Asked if his party would demand imposition of the President’s rule in the state, Mr Ghosh said that the situation is heading in that direction.

He said that the Assembly election in Karnataka was held two days before the panchayat poll in Bengal but there was no report of any violence from the southern Indian state.

Mr Ghosh said that the people in West Bengal have now realised that only the BJP can counter the TMC. He claimed several TMC leaders were in touch with him.