Modi has transformed from chaiwala to Rafalewala: Mamata Banerjee

Banerjee's no-holds-barred attack on Modi came after the latter, at a rally in Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, accused her of trying to protect those involved in chit fund scams and warned neither the perpetrators nor those shielding them will be spared.

Banerjee's no-holds-barred attack on Modi came after the latter, at a rally in Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, accused her of trying to protect those involved in chit fund scams and warned neither the perpetrators nor those shielding them will be spared. (ANI)

Kolkata: In a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trinamool supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday called him "Maddy babu", who has transformed from a "chaiwala (tea-seller) to Rafalewala", and said she supported the views of the Congress on the fighter jet deal. She also termed the Rafale deal "one of the biggest scam of the country". Banerjee's no-holds-barred attack on Modi came after the latter, at a rally in Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, accused her of trying to protect those involved in chit fund scams and warned neither the perpetrators nor those shielding them will be spared. Riled up over the prime minister's snide remarks over her holding a dharna against CBI action against the Kolkata police chief and allegation of prevalence of "syndicate raj" under TMC rule, Banerjee said, "The less we talk about this man (Modi) the better it is... Maddy babu is the master of corruption. He is the master of arrogance and is a shame for the country." "His standard is so low that we have never expected such a man to be the prime minister... We have respect for the chair but not for this man. He is the most corrupt man in the history of India," she told reporters after conclusion of the Bengal Global Business Summit here. Over the Congress' allegations on the Rafale deal, Banerjee said, "I do not know how much money changed hands or what had happened. But certainly there must be something behind the curtains. Rafale deal is a big scam and I fully support the Congress' views on it because they have detailed papers with them," Banerjee said. Earlier in the day, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had alleged that "the prime minister has stolen Rs 30,000 crore of your money, bypassed a process, and given it to his friend Mr Anil Ambani". He demanded answers to questions raised by a media report that the PMO conducted parallel negotiations on the Rafale deal, saying it is now "crystal clear" that the "watchman" is the "thief". On Modi describing her dharna at the heart of Kolkata an unprecedented event by any chief minister "guarding the corrupts", she said the prime minister was "scared" seeing the entire country uniting to drive him out of power. "It (dharna) was a non-political forum... a satyagraha. He is very scared because India is united now and that is why he is talking nonsense. He is spending sleepless nights. Our one-point agenda is 'Modi hatao desh banchao'," the TMC supremo said. "He was never a chaiwala (tea-seller) and does not know how to prepare tea. From chaiwala he has now become Rafalewala. He (Modi) is most corrupt man in the Rafale deal. He is the master of demonetisation. He lies," she quipped. Banerjee, who had organised a rally of the opposition parties at the Brigade Parade ground here on January 19, claimed that Modi was scared as 23 major parties in the country have united against him. She also made objections to the prime minister inaugurating the Jalpaiguri circuit bench of the Calcutta High Court, keeping her government as well as the court "in the dark". "The land is ours, the circuit bench is of the high court. Neither the groom nor the bride is there but the bandwala has arrived," Banerjee said, adding only one month is left for the Narendra Modi government to "expire". "Since only a month is left for the general elections, the prime minister is bluffing," she alleged. "What has he been doing all these five years. He (Modi) has completed five years in the government. Now they are doing all these to suppress our political voice. 'Maddy' babu is bluffing... people have turned away from them (the BJP) and they will not be able to withstand this blow of the common people of the country," Banerjee said. The Trinamool Congress supremo also asked why so many BJP leaders, whose name surfaced in the Saradha chit fund scam, were not arrested.