New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on atrocities against women and corruption in the state asserting that the TMC and her government had taken stern action against the culprits involved in alleged sexual abuse of women in Sandeshkhali. Speaking at a rally in Jalpaiguri, CM Banerjee dismissed corruption allegations against the TMC as politically motivated and questioned the halt in central funds despite the deployment of over 300 supervisory teams by the Centre.
"Yesterday, he [PM] said his fight was against corruption and atrocities in Sandeshkhali. I want to let him know that Sandeshkhali is not Singur or Nandigram. A few incidents took place locally and arrests have already been made. It was our police who made the arrests. We have returned the land to the people as we don't allow injustice against anyone", PTI quoted CM Mamata as saying.
CM Banerjee further added, "Can Narendra Modi or BJP answer how many times he went to Hathras, where a Dalit rape victim was cremated in the dead of night without the consent of her parents? Was he sleeping then? They failed to deliver justice to Bilkis Bano".
However, the BJP responded to CM Mamata's remarks with State BJP President Dr Sukanta Majumdar saying, "...The kind of words used against PM Modi by Mamata Banerjee shows that she is losing her mental stability".
In response to Prime Minister Modi's criticism of the state government's handling of recent incidents in Sandeshkhali, where allegations of sexual abuse against TMC leaders emerged, CM Banerjee defended her government. Addressing the issue at a rally in Cooch Behar, she refuted allegations of corruption under TMC rule, stating that there are currently no complaints about corruption. Despite this, she expressed concern over the delay in releasing funds for MGNREGA initiatives, PTI reported.
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee slammed the BJP, asserting that they lack the authority to lecture the Bengal government. She demanded transparency by urging the release of reports from over 350 central teams sent to Bengal to assess welfare scheme implementation, alongside those from Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
Bengal CM challenged allegations of corruption, highlighting her government's swift action even in a few cases, contrasting it with Uttar Pradesh's purported 85 lakh corruption instances. She dismissed any moral high ground claimed by the BJP regarding corruption issues in Bengal, as per PTI report.
Bengal CM Mamata Slams BJP For Re-Nominating Union MoS Nisith Pramanik
Earlier in the afternoon, while addressing a rally in Alipurduar, Banerjee said, "The BJP has turned into a washing machine which protects corrupt leaders joining the saffron camp. Only those who are in the TMC are corrupt and everybody in BJP is a saint".
She took a dig at the BJP, saying, "It is a matter of national shame that a person against whom several criminal cases are pending has been appointed as the Union minister of state for home affairs. He has been re-nominated again", she said in an apparent reference to BJP candidate Nisith Pramanik, who is seeking re-election from Cooch Behar.
She also recalled the tragic deaths of four civilians in Sitalkuchi during the 2021 assembly elections due to firing by central forces, criticising the nomination of the individual responsible for the incident as a candidate in Birbhum. CM Banerjee highlighted the suspension of Debasish Dhar, the former Cooch Behar SP during the elections, as indicative of administrative actions taken post the incident.
Bengal CM Mamata Accuses BJP Of Hindering Aid For Jalpaiguri
CM Mamata said that her efforts to provide compensation to the victims of a recent storm in Jalpaiguri were hindered by the BJP's complaint to the Election Commission. She accused the BJP of obstructing the state administration's efforts to deliver aid to those affected. Banerjee appealed to the Election Commission to allow the state government to proceed with building 5,000 houses for storm-affected families, reported PTI.
She criticised the BJP for withholding central funds and urged the Centre to release a white paper detailing the amount of money allocated to the state in the past three years. She said that out of the 11.36 lakh verified beneficiaries under the Awas Yojana, over six lakh were from the region, underscoring the significance of these funds for the beneficiaries, over six lakh were from this region.
Mamata Banerjee questioned the delay in providing houses to those affected by the storm over the past three years, challenging the BJP to produce evidence of corruption by releasing a white paper on Awas funds. She slammed the BJP-led central government for allegedly withholding over Rs 1.80 lakh crore of rightful dues to the state, contrasting it with the significant funds taken away by the Centre over the past five years. Later, Banerjee conducted a padayatra in the Siliguri area of Darjeeling district.