KOLKATA: The battle for West Bengal’s 42 seats — the third highest among states — reached its crescendo on Wednesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launching a no-holds barred attack against each other. Kicking off his ballistic poll campaign in the state, the BJP’s star campaigner accused Mamata of being a ‘speed breaker’ in the path of development, while Mamata held Modi responsible for dividing society based on the basis of religion.
Modi earlier flew into Kolkata from Siliguri to address a rally at Brigade Parade Ground, attacking the Trinamool at both places. “The entire nation is enjoying benefits of Central schemes like Ayushman Bharat, but not Bengal. It is because Didi is acting as a speed breaker. I am waiting for this speed breaker to go,” he said.
Criticising Mamata for using the poor for politics, he said, “Hers is politics of poverty. When poverty goes, her politics will fall,” adding, “While farmers of the state have not been able to reap the benefits of direct transfer of money to their accounts under the ‘PM Kisan Samman Yojana’ owing to ‘speedbreaker Didi’, the money of the poor in chit funds has been looted by her colleagues”.
A livid Mamata challenged the Prime Minister to a debate to explain what he had done for them. “During Modi’s rule, 12,000 farmers committed suicide but in Bengal, incomes of farmers climbed three times. I also introduced insurance for farmers and waived mutation fees for farmland sales,” she said.
Addressing a rally in Dinhata, Coochbehar, she called Modi ‘expiry Babu’. “I am born in the land of Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore and don’t need his certificate on our nationalism,” she said, adding, “Catch me if you can, touch me if you can. I am also from a Hindu family. ..but I don’t go by your Hinduism. My parents did not teach me this type of Hinduism where you hate people.”
The BJP’s target is to win 24 seats in Bengal.