After a video in which she is seen grooving with actor Salman Khan went viral on social media platforms, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she doesn't know how to dance and it was just a "step" she did during the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), ANI reported. At the event on Tuesday, Mamata was seen shaking a leg with Bollywood stars after being persuaded by Salman Khan.
Speaking to reporters before departing for an official trip to north Bengal, the TMC supremo said, "I don't know how to dance, I dance with tribals to support them. They (Bollywood actors) pulled my hand and asked me join, so I obliged. We respect Bollywood so this is just a step, nothing else, but it's good to meet everybody."
Banerjee's remark comes after Union Minister Giriraj Singh commented on her dance video. "We are full of anger...we would ask BJP that who gave you the right to disrespect a woman? Giriraj Singh is a Union Minister holding a position of responsibility...the way he said such inappropriate thing, even if he apologizes, it's too less," Bengal Minister Shashi Panja told ANI
Banerjee also fired a salvo at the BJP, calling it the "biggest pickpocket" and accused the party of bluffing voters before polls. She also said central agencies like ED were repeatedly visiting the state to get "political food" for BJP, PTI reported.
"They (BJP) are the biggest pickpockets in the country and people have suffered the most due to this. They promise to transfer Rs 15 lakh to each person's account, then carry out demonetisation, and then they suddenly stop free ration during pandemic. They bluff people making false promises before the elections," the CM said.
Apart from Salman, the KIFF was attended by actors Sonakshi Sinha and Anil Kapoor, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, and West Bengal's brand ambassador Sourav Ganguly.
On Tuesday, while speaking at the KIFF event, Salman Khan said he was awestruck when he saw the modest residence of Banerjee. "When I was invited by Didi to her house...I was shocked to see her house is actually smaller than mine. How can somebody in this position, have a house smaller than mine? This only shows how simple people are and we don't need that much," the Tiger 3 actor said.