KOLKATA, Apr 20: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unscheduled stop to buy Bengal’s favourite snack ‘jhalmuri’ during poll campaigning in Jhargram was just a “drama”.
“How come cameras were present when he made the unscheduled stop? The entire episode was scripted,” she alleged.
The TMC supremo took the opportunity to target the prime minister with her allegation that the BJP seeks to put restrictions on people’s dietary habits.
“You have suddenly started loving Jhalmuri. But what about people being prevented from eating fish and mutton in BJP-ruled states?” Banerjee posed.
The prime minister on Sunday posted a video on his official X account in which he was seen buying ‘jhalmuri’, a popular Bengali street food made of puffed rice, green chillies, and spices, from a nondescript shop in Jhargram.
The PM, who was accompanied by his security personnel, paid the shopkeeper for the snack. When the man denied taking the money, the prime minister insisted that he accept it.
At a poll rally at Murarai assembly constituency in Birbhumm district, Banerjee questioned the spontaneity of the entire episode.
“Cameras were placed there beforehand. The SPG (the force responsible for providing proximity security to the prime minister) had arranged for the whole thing.
“He was seen carrying a Rs 10 note in his pocket. Is it believable? It’s all drama,” she claimed.
At another rally in the Khardaha assembly seat, the chief minister said, “One has the right to eat whatever he loves. I love litti, chhatu, and dhokla, everything. Why should you stop eating non-veg?”
“We never dictate anybody’s dietary habits. Once we win (the West Bengal polls), I will send tiler naru (sesame seed laddoo), khirer naru (thickened milk laddoos) to every BJP leader who came to Bengal,” she said.
At an election meeting in the state capital, Banerjee claimed the prime minister schedules his election meetings in a way that he addresses a rally in one part of the state in a bid to influence people voting in another part of the state the same day, “going against the rules”.
“As the Election Commission is under their control, they can do whatever they want,” she said.
On the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, she accused the poll panel of “first having deleted lakhs of names and then having branded people as infiltrators as wished by the BJP”.
“But in the wake of the Supreme Court directive and due to my fight, 32 lakh electors of the 60 lakh who had been placed under logical discrepancy bracket, have been retained in the rolls,” she said.
“Sooner or later, all legitimate voters will get re-enrolled in the voters’ list. The BJP should remember the top court has ordered that pending cases will be cleared by the tribunals.”
Earlier in the day, the TMC supremo accused the BJP of secretly aiding “some traitors in fielding Independents from the minority community in different constituencies”.
“This has happened in my area, Bhabanipur, as well. They have come from Murshidabad and Malda,” she said.
“They have commodified religion. I respect humanity. I believe in secularism. I respect every religion, caste, creed and language. But those who have betrayed their own people, betrayed our party, will be rejected by the people.”
About the Constitution amendment bill to implement women’s quota in legislatures from 2029 getting derailed in the Lok Sabha, Banerjee said, “We have always fought for reservation for women. We don’t need a bill to give women seats. We already have 50 per cent reservation for women in panchayats and municipalities.”
“In the Lok Sabha, our party (TMC) has 37 per cent women MPs. In the Rajya Sabha, our women’s representation is 46 per cent. PM Modi should take lessons from us. They don’t have the right to insult women. Since 1998, we have been fighting for this. I fought in the Lok Sabha for the Women’s Reservation Bill.
“In the name of the women’s reservation bill, they wanted to divide the country. They wanted to divide Bengal as well,” she said.
Banerjee termed the BJP’s failure in getting the bill passed the “start of PM Modi’s fall”. “After we win Bengal, we will dethrone the BJP in the Centre,” she said.
Banerjee also alleged that the “Election Commission has prepared a list of TMC leaders to arrest or restrain them on false grounds before the day of voting”.
“They have shifted and transferred most of the administrative and police officials conversant with the state and brought in their own people from states like Haryana, Odisha, Tripura, and Bihar to execute the orders dictated by their BJP masters in Delhi.”
“They are threatening everyone. Raids are still happening at our party offices. The I-T department is being sent to raid our candidates. If they have the guts, they should face me directly,” she said.
About the heavy deployment of Central security forces in Bengal for the elections, Banerjee said, “You failed to prevent the terror attack in Pahalgam (last year). But you (BJP) are bringing in armoured vehicles to conduct elections in Bengal. Is it to intimidate and create terror among people?”
“They won Maharashtra and Bihar through manipulation. They brought trainloads of people from outside to influence the Bihar polls,” she alleged and urged people to “remain alert and foil the BJP’s gameplan in Bengal”.
Sharpening her attack on Modi, the TMC supremo said the prime minister has named “stadiums, and schools after himself. Even the Covid vaccination certificates were named after him”.
She blamed the BJP for “turning the LPG crisis severe” and said, “People in Bengal are now getting LPG as the crisis eased a bit after I fought for them. After the election, they will make LPG scarce again.” (PTI)
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