Mamata orchestrated violence during Amit Shah's roadshow, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday blamed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for violence during BJP President Amit Shah's roadshow in Kolkata saying the attack came days after the TMC supremo vowed to take revenge against the saffron party. Modi was speaking to ABP Ananda channel in an exclusive conversation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday blamed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for violence during BJP President Amit Shah's roadshow in Kolkata, saying the attack came days after the TMC supremo vowed to take revenge against the saffron party. Modi was speaking to ABP Ananda in an exclusive conversation before addressing a poll rally. "There's no need of my opinion. Mamataji had already declared that she will take revenge for every inch and she has shown this within 24 hours. Her words were enough to prove who was behind the violence in Kolkata," Modi said when asked about Tuesday's violent clashes between BJP and TMC workers at Shah's roadshow. Modi said he expects the Election Commission to take seriously the incidents of violence during polls in West Bengal. He said the ruling TMC and its workers are following the model of the Left, under which there's no difference between the administration and the party. "Therefore, I do not expect anything from the state administration." The people of Bengal have made up their mind to end Banerjee's autocratic rule, Modi said. Polling is scheduled to take place for nine Lok Sabha seats of the state on May 19, the seventh and last phase of the ongoing general elections. The prime minister said the BJP is going to perform well in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha elections. "Considering the support the BJP is getting in West Bengal, I am confident that the state will help us cross the 300-mark," he said. Modi also said that Banerjee was scared by the BJP wave in West Bengal. Modi and Banerjee were engaged in a vicious war of words in their poll rallies in the recent past, heating up the electoral battle during polls. Members of the BJP and the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) got involved in violent clashes during Shah's roadshow in the College Street area on Tuesday after TMCP activists showed black flags to Shah and shouted slogans against him from outside the Calcutta University campus. The violence also spread to the nearby Vidyasagar College, where a large group of TMCP members had camped to protest against Shah's roadshow. A bust of 19th century social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was seen lying shattered, with the TMCP activists blaming the BJP, while the saffron party functionaries pointed fingers at the Trinamool.