New Delhi: In a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) versus Trinamool Congress (TMC) faceoff, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed a poll rally in West Bengal's Cooch Behar, nearly 30 minutes after TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee charged the voters in her party's campaign ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024.


PM Modi launched a blistering attack on the Opposition, saying although the Congress kept harping on their agenda of "Garibi Hatao (remove poverty)", it was the BJP that alleviated the poverty of 25 crore people over the last 10 years of its governance at the Centre. 


Addressing the poll rally, PM Modi said, "For decades Congress kept giving the slogan of 'Garibi Hatao'. It is the BJP govt which in the last ten years alleviated 25 crore people from poverty. This happened because we are working sincerely and our 'niyat' is right."


Speaking on the Sandeshkhali violence, where the women alleged TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan of assault and land grab, PM Modi said, "BJP has pledged to ensure culprits of Sandeshkhali are punished. The whole country has seen how the TMC govt tried its best to protect the accused in Sandeshkhali. Only BJP can stop atrocities on women in West Bengal."  






He said he was thankful to the Bengal Chief Minister for not setting up any "obstacle" this time time ahead of his election campaign. He was referring to an instance where CM Banerjee had set up a stage in the middle of the ground to reduce the space for PM Modi's rally. "I first want to thank West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee because in 2019, I was here to address a rally on the same ground, she installed a big stage in the middle of this ground to reduce the space (for rally), so that people could not listen to Modi, Back then I had told here - 'Didi, you didn't do the right thing. People will give an answer to this.' And you gave a reply (to her). But today, she didn't do any such thing," he said.  




"The 21st century is very crucial for India. This time is to make India developed, and when the country will be developed, West Bengal will be a big beneficiary of that," PM Modi added.


In the TMC rally earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee jabbed the BJP saying a poisonous snake can be trusted but not the saffron camp, alleging that it is not following the Model Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha elections.


The Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat recently witnessed clashes between supporters of sitting BJP MP and Union minister Nisith Pramanik, who has been renominated from this constituency, and TMC leader Udayan Guha and has become a battleground of prestige with both parties pulling all the stops to secure victory. 


Pramanik will face TMC's Jagadish Barma Basunia, who comes from the Rajbanshi community and is the sitting MLA of Sitai.