KOLKATA, Apr 24: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi could enjoy a boat ride on the Hooghly in the state because its waters were clean, unlike the Yamuna in Delhi, which she alleged was polluted.
Addressing an election meeting in Howrah, Banerjee said Modi would not be able to undertake a similar boat ride on the Yamuna in the national capital due to pollution, blaming the BJP-led administration there for the river’s condition.
She said it was good that the prime minister chose to take a boat ride on the Hooghly River, where riverfront areas had been beautified by the state government and civic bodies, including the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
Responding to Modi’s claims about women’s safety in Bengal, Banerjee said he should assess the situation himself and compare it with BJP-ruled states.
“See how safe women are here — in the city, in the state, on the streets — unlike BJP-ruled places like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere, where incidents of attacks on women are reported every day,” she said.
“Why do you forget about Hathras and Delhi? Please go to Manipur, which is burning. Why are you silent on Manipur?” she asked.
Turning the guns on Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, she said, “You (BJP) give tickets to those who rape women and garland rapists.”
Holding the BJP and the Election Commission responsible for the plight and miseries of people due to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, she said over 300 deaths occurred due to SIR-related stress in the state over the past few months.
“There are even reports about the deaths of four persons while standing in queues while voting on Thursday,” she said.
On SIR, she said, “I managed to flag the issue of 32 lakh omitted voters and moved the Supreme Court.”
Referring to alleged remarks by Shah that “TMC tormentors will be hung upside down publicly” after May 4, Banerjee questioned whether a Union minister could issue such threats.
“With all decorum and respect, may I ask if a Union minister can issue any such threat?” she said.
The chief minister expressed confidence that her party would secure a decisive mandate in the polls.
“The first phase has already confirmed that TMC will win with a big mandate in the two-phase Assembly polls. The joy of BJP leaders is short-lived,” she said.
“From Alipurduar, Coochbehar, Uttar Dinajpur, Malda and Murshidabad, the BJP will end up with a big zero. The high percentage of 93 per cent votes has been decisively against the SIR,” she said.
Banerjee also objected to Shah allegedly describing Kolkata as a city of slums, asserting that it was “among the front-ranking industrial cities in the country”.
“Shah is holding meetings with officials and coercing and issuing threats to them. Now you (Shah) are orchestrating raids by central agencies on businessmen and opponents not falling on your side. In future, you will be defeated and ousted in Delhi as the long arm of law will catch up to you,” she said.
Accusing the BJP of installing their own men at the helm after the Bihar assembly polls, she said, “You saw how they had pitted Nitish Kumar on the forefront and then finally put up their own men as part of the bigger agenda.”
Alleging that Modi and other BJP leaders were imposing their diktats on the food habits on Bengalis and putting curbs on the sale of fish and meat, she offered to cook fish delicacies for Modi and send them to the PM’s address.
“I will myself cook ‘macher jhol’ (fish curry) for you and send it to your home. We are known for our hospitality,” she said.
Banerjee later took part in a roadshow in Bhabanipur area, where she is seeking re-election. (PTI)
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