KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today thanked BSP president Mayawati after she charged the Centre with adopting a double standard in dealing with NDA-ruled Bihar and TMC-governed West Bengal, and said the UP leader had "exposed" the Narendra Modi dispensation.
Banerjee, who is the Trinamool Congress chief, also said that the BJP government was "scared" because all the opposition parties were "working together".
"Thank you Mayawati Ji for your comments about Bengal. You have exposed the BJP govt. BJP govt is scared as we are all working together," tweeted Banerjee, who is currently in Delhi to explore a 'federal front' option to take on the BJP in the next Lok Sabha polls.
"The BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is adopting double standards while dealing with Bihar and West Bengal governments as the former is led by their own coalition and the latter by TMC's Mamata Banerjee," Mayawati said in a statement released in Lucknow.
"Though the West Bengal government is being targeted for asking police to act sternly against those instigating riots by taking out a yatra, in a similar case in Bihar, the government there is out to save the son of a union minister," the BSP chief said.
She was apparently referring to Arjit Shashwat, son of Union minister of state Ashwini Kumar Choubey who was recently booked for allegedly inciting communal passion by taking out an unauthourised procession in Bhagalpur town in Bihar.
In her statement, Mayawati asked, "Why this double standard on the part of the central government on the issue of law and order and amity?" She also recalled that communal riots had taken place in Kasganj area of Uttar Pradesh when a 'tiranga yatra' was taken out allegedly "without permission".
Banerjee had yesterday held meetings with NCP chief Sharad Pawar and leaders of some regional parties as well as NDA ally Shiv Sena mooting a "one-to-one" fight in all the states.
Today she met disgruntled BJP leaders Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha in New Delhi.