Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday came down heavily on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying she is sparring with the Election Commission instead of taking on political parties. Elections would come and go, but institutions will stay; and they should be respected, he added.
“In sports, however unhappy you are with the umpire’s decisions, you do not fight with him. But here, Didi is busy fighting the poll panel,” he said at an election rally here.
Modi held two back-to-back rallies in West Bengal — one in the city, and another in Krishnanagar in Nadia district, 100 km north of Kolkata.
“The fact that she is fighting with the Election Commission shows she and her party are wary of defeat. That is why they have forgotten that the BJP, and not the Election Commission, is her opponent,” he added.
Ever since the Election Commission issued her a show-cause notice, Mamata has gone for on an-all out attack on the poll panel. The Prime Minister’s criticism did not stop there. He referred to reports saying State Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee had replied to the show-cause notice on Mamata’s behalf.
According to Modi, the notice was given to the Trinamool Congress candidate from the Bhabanipur constituency in Kolkata, not the Chief Minister.
“I heard that the Chief Secretary has given the reply. The Commission did not show-cause the Chief Minister. It was to her as TMC leader. Either TMC or its legal cell should have given the reply. This is blatant misuse of government machinery,” he pointed out.
‘Unethical’ allianceModi was also critical of the Left-Congress alliance, which he claimed to be “unethical” and taking the “voter for a ride”.
The only reason that the two parties — which are at loggerheads in Kerala — came together in Bengal was for survival, he said, not for the development of the State. “People are not fools. The development of West Bengal is not their priority. Rather, they have come together for their own survival. Do not take the voter for granted,” Modi said.
Reiterating that the BJP is the credible third alternative West Bengal, he PM urged people to vote them to power for the sake of development of the State.
He alleged that years of Congress, Left and finally TMC rule in Bengal had turned it into an “old age home”. The youth were leaving the State for better prospects elsewhere, he added.