KOLKATA: Barely 24 hours after slamming the Centre on the issue of not helping to organise the Gangasagar Mela, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday lambasted the saffron camp alleging that the stone pelting at the Vande Bharat express took place in Bihar, not in her state.
The Bengal CM's comments come after stones were pelted at the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express on Tuesday, days after it was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mamata also claimed the rake of the first superfast train in Bengal was nothing but an old refurbished train with a new engine.
A war of words erupted immediately as BJP's Amit Malviya claimed that the train had been "targeted on the Bengal CM's instruction."
"The incident of stone pelting did not take place in Bengal. It happened in Bihar. A section of people in Bihar may have discontent for not having the train service in their state but for that, we cannot accuse the entire state. Many are spreading fake news over the incident. We will take lawful action against them," she said while leaving Sagar island in South 24 Parganas after overseeing preparedness for Gangasagar Mela.
On Wednesday, she said the Centre helped to organise Kumbh Mela but had not given a single rupee to help her state for the Gangasagar Mela.
Remember, the Bengal CM refused to share the stage after BJP supporters chanted 'Jai Shree Ram' slogans during the Vande Bharat's inauguration at Howrah station on December 30.
Referring to Bengal's first Vande Bharat, Mamata on Thursday said, "It has nothing new. An old rake has been refurbished with a new engine. Many old rakes have been withdrawn from the state. During my tenure as railway minister, Bengal used to get 100 new trains in a year but in the past 11 years, the state has not got a single new one."
In retaliation, Malviya tweeted, "Now it is abundantly clear that Vande Bharat was targeted on Mamata Banerjee's instruction. She is both, incompetent and jealous, of the Modi government working for WB. The problem was never the slogans of Jai Shree Ram but the BJP taking lead to improve the lives of people. What a disgrace she is!"
Following the stone pelting incident two days ago at the train, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and BJP's state president Sukanta Majumder alleged "the train, which is the "pride of the nation, is not safe in Bengal."
The Eastern Railway on Thursday issued a statement saying the stone pelters have been identified with the help of the video footage recorded by the CCTVs fitted to the rake and actions are being taken against them with the state police. Sources in the railway said the footage indicates the incident took place when the Howrah bound train from New Jalpaiguri was passing in the Kishanganj area under the Katihar division of Bihar.
Before leaving the Gangasagar Mela venue on Thursday, Mamata hit out at the BJP over the issue of the 100-day job scheme in the state.
"I heard some people are talking about 20 lakh fake job cards here. If there are any irregularities, we are rectifying them. I heard about 69 lakh fake job cards in Uttar Pradesh. How many such fake cards are in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka? We are yet to receive dues from the Centre under the 100-day job scheme. But we have created 50 lakh man-days by spending Rs 2,500 crore. For how long they will be sleeping? I am not thinking of today. I am thinking of tomorrow. They will wake up after a new government comes to power," she said.