Chowkidar disappeared when Amphan hit Bengal: Mamata hits out at PM Modi

Express News Service
KOLKATA: Slamming PM Narendra Modi, Bengal CM and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said the chowkidar had disappeared when cyclone Amphan ravaged south Bengal. 

She also rubbished the BJP’s claim that the Centre had given the state government financial grant to rebuild Amphan-hit areas saying it was her government’s money.

“I was sitting for three days in my office at the state secretariat. When the cyclone hit Kolkata we all were fearing that the building might collapse at any moment. Two adjoining building caved in because of the impact of the cyclone. Where was the chowkidar at that time? He disappeared when we were fighting Amphan,” said Mamata while addressing a rally at Sagar, one of the cyclone-affected areas in South 24 Parganas. She further claimed to have moved 18 lakh people to safety before Amphan hit Bengal.

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Referring to Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent claim that the central government had given Rs 10,000 crore to the Mamata government and Modi’s allegation of siphoning off the Centre’s compensation by her nephew, she said, “They gave us only Rs 1,000 crore. It was our money that the Centre had given. They gave us our own money and now they are taking credit,” Mamata said.

In an apparent reference to newly formed the Indian Secular Force (ISF), which is in alliance with the Left Front and the Congress to contest the upcoming Assembly elections, Mamata alleged the BJP was behind it to divide minority votes. The CPI(M) and Congress are in hand in gloves with the saffron camp, she said.

“A new political party has been formed in the state with support from the BJP. It wants to help the BJP by splitting the minority votes. Please do not vote for its candidates. CPI(M) and Congress have a covert understanding with the BJP. Only TMC is capable of stopping implementation of the CAA in Bengal. Only we can ensure communal harmony in the state,” she said at another rally in Patharpratima in the same district.  

The minority community supports TMC en bloc since the change of guard in the state in 2011 and the BJP is trying to split her vote-bank and consolidate Hindu votes in its favour to come to power.