Newz Desk, Bardhaman/Durgapur: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Benerjee today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of insulting both her position and the people of the state by branding them as “thieves”. Speaking at a government programme in Bardhaman town in Purba Bardhaman district, to distribute social welfare schemes’ benefits among the people, Banerjee called Modi’s comments an “insult” to the people of West Bengal.
She lashed out at the PM for holding back central funds that, she alleged, have put a “heavy burden” on the state exchequer. “The Prime Minister should respect my chair as I respect his. I never expected him to call the people of West Bengal ‘thieves’,” Banerjee said.
Referring to Modi’s comments, she said she never expected him to demean the position of chief minister or insult the people of West Bengal by branding them as “thieves”. “Truth is, he [Modi] has turned a blind eye to the performances of the so-called ‘double-engine’ BJP governments of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar, where corruption is at its highest,” Banerjee said during her address.
Alleging that PM Modi travels to West Bengal “like a migratory bird every time there is an election knocking on doors”, Banerjee said the state administration has satisfactorily replied to all queries of the Union government about utilisation of central funds for welfare schemes. “We have answered all your queries, yet you [Modi] stopped the disbursement of central funds and call the people of West Bengal ‘thieves’. The centre had sent 186 teams to West Bengal to probe corruption charges and found nothing. How can a student accept getting zero marks after answering all the questions? We will not tolerate this insult,” she said.
Speaking at a public meeting in Kolkata on August 22, PM Modi had stated that “corruption, crime and the Trinamool Congress are synonymous”. Modi alleged that the biggest challenge to Bengal’s development is that most central funds are looted and spent on Trinamool Congress cadres. He said Bengal’s demography is changing because of illegal infiltration, and the Trinamool has to be removed from power to ensure infiltrators leave Bengal.