Sreerampur/Barrackpore, April 29
Making a sensational claim in the middle of the General Election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said 40 TMC MLAs were in touch with him and will desert their party once the BJP wins the poll.
The TMC leadership was quick to hit back, accusing Modi of horse trading, and saying it had filed a complaint to the Election Commission in the evening.
On the campaign trail in West Bengal’s Sreerampur Lok Sabha seat in Hoogly district and Barrackpore constituency in North 24 Parganas, Modi accused TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee of nepotism, insisting she wanted to politically establish her nephew in West Bengal.
Modi also assailed her over her prime ministerial ambitions, saying, “Didi, Dilli door hai (Delhi is far away)... your 40 MLAs are in touch with me and all your MLAs will desert you once the BJP wins the election. Political ground has slipped from under your feet.”
TMC group leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O’ Brien was quick to allege that Modi was indulging in horse trading.
Mocking Banerjee for often losing her cool as she was “sensing defeat”, Modi said she cannot even dream of becoming the prime minister. Her real intention, he added, was to politically establish her nephew. Abhishek is a sitting MP from Diamond Harbour and the TMC candidate for the seat. “It will be tough for you to save yourself. You have cheated the people of Bengal,” he said, in a message to Banerjee.
The Trinamool has 213 MLAs in the 295-member West Bengal Assembly.
Modi alleged that TMC “goons” were trying to prevent people from voting and attacking BJP workers. He claimed BJP leaders were not being allowed to campaign freely.
The PM’s remarks came in the wake of reports of violence during the fourth phase of polling in eight Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal.
Giving the slogan of “Chup chap, BJP te chhap” (cast your vote silently for the BJP), Modi took a dig at Banerjee for her comments that the people of Bengal will, instead of votes, offer him rosogollas made of clay.
“It will be like prasad for me. I will be honoured to have rosogollas made of the soil of the sacred land of Bengal," he said.
Citing Banerjee, Modi said he would also be happy to have the stones that she said would be inside. — PTI
‘Didi, Dilli door hai’
With just a handful of seats, Didi, you can’t reach Delhi. Delhi is far away. Going to Delhi is just an excuse. Real intention is to politically establish your nephew. — Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
‘Expiry date’s near’
Nobody will go with you. Not even one councillor. Are you election campaigning or horse trading! Your expiry date is near. We are complaining to the EC. — Derek O’Brien, TMC MP
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2Wg8B3E
via Today’s News Headlines
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