KOLKATA: Hours after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a sudden boat ride on the Hooghly river in Kolkata on Friday morning, ruling Trinamool Congress led by the outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took a dig at him.
Addressing a poll rally in Howrah city this afternoon, the Trinamool Congress supremo said, “Sometimes, you are attacking students, and sometimes, you are saying women can’t go out and walk along roads. And today, you have taken a boat ride. But, I would say, draw a comparison between the Ganga of West Bengal and Yamuna of Delhi.”
“The Ganga in West Bengal is clean, which is why you were able to enjoy a pleasant boat ride this morning. Your boat ride and photographs are part of election politics. I welcome you to ride on the Ganga and travel to Chandannagar by boat during the Durga Puja festival,” Mamata said.
Mocking Modi, Mamata said, “Could you take a dip in the Yamuna in Delhi? What is the state of the river there? It is polluted. You are showcasing photos on our Ganga at a time when you have failed to make the Yamuna pollution-free.”
The ruling party also slammed Modi and said he 'flew down to Bengal to fulfil his ritualistic photo-op quota’ calling him a ‘political tourist.’
The party also shared pictures of "Ganga river under Didi's rule" and "Yamuna river under double engine government".
"Political tourist Narendra Modi is now doing 'Nauka Vihar' (boat ride) in Bengal," the official handle of Trinamool Congress posted on X.
Trinamool also brought the event of the Prime Minister's visit to Yamuna river last year during Chhath Puja celebrations.
“Earlier, the Photo Mantri had to cancel his Chhath Puja prayers in Delhi after his Yamuna stunt was exposed as a purified, artificial pond created just for the cameras, while the real river remained a toxic sewer. Embarrassed and exposed, he flew down to Bengal to fulfil his ritualistic photo-op quota. Fine. Do as many nautanki boat rides as you want. But the Ganga of public anger is flowing upstream now, straight towards your sinking boat,” Trinamool wrote on X.
The criticism came after Modi’s visit to Kolkata, where he spent time along the banks of the Hooghly River, offering prayers and speaking about the importance of the Ganga to the cultural and spiritual life of Bengal.
In a message shared later, he described the river as holding an “extremely special” place in the hearts of Bengalis and said his visit was “an opportunity to express my gratitude to Ma Ganga.”