PM, West Bengal CM attack each other during election rallies in Cooch Behar

KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee on Thursday crossed swords with each other on various issues.

Both the leaders were in Cooch Behar attending campaign rallies for their respective parties.

While Modi brought up the Sandeshkhali issue saying that under TMC rule women’s life and honour are at stake, Mamata said that BJP candidate from Cooch Behar and Union Minister of State for Home Nisith Pramanik was a TMC discard for his anti-social activities.

Banerjee said, “Pramanik used to ride 30 cars and he is accusing others of corruption. BJP leaders are all corrupt and they are using the ED and CBI to malign the image of other political leaders apart from their leaders.”

Modi targeted West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and said the entire country saw how the TMC tried to save the culprits of the Sandeshkhali incident. “But the BJP’s focus is empowering women. The culprits of Sandeshkhali will spend their lives in jail,” PM Modi said.

He also said that only the BJP can stop the injustice taking place to the women of Bengal and hence it must be strengthened in West Bengal. “What happened to the women of Sandeshkhali was a result of TMC’s misrule. BJP has vowed that it will ensure the punishment of the Sandeshkhali culprits,” Modi added.

TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, while addressing the election rally in Cooch Behar, alleged that the Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) are working at the behest of the BJP and urged the Election Commission to look into it and ensure a level playing field for all political parties.

“The BJP is asking you to enrol names for Awas Yojna again. Why will the names be enrolled again? They want further enrollment so that they can chuck it off. You can trust a poisonous snake; you can even pet it, but you can never trust the BJP. The BJP is destroying the country,” she added.

Asserting that her party TMC will not bow before the “threat of central agencies”, Banerjee urged women in Cooch Behar to file police complaints if “there are instances of BSF torturing locals” ahead of the polls, scheduled for April 19.