Days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called PM Narendra Modi “panauti” (bad luck) while speaking at a rally in poll-bound Rajasthan, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said India’s World Cup loss happened since a “sinner” came to the finals.
Addressing a meeting of Trinamool Congress leaders at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, Mamata Banerjee said: “The Indian team played so well that they won all the matches in the World Cup, except the one attended by the sinner.” She added that India would have won if the World Cup final had happened in Kolkata or Mumbai, instead of Ahmedabad.
She also alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party wanted Team India uniform to be saffronised. “Players resisted, so the India team did not have to wear saffron jerseys during matches. Saffron is the colour of tyagis, but you are bhogis,” she said, targetting the BJP.
She also warned the BJP of a tit-for-tat move if Central investigative agencies continue to arrest Trinamool Congress leaders. “If they have four of my MLAs in jail, I have also decided to arrest eight of their people as we have cases against them,” she said.
Last month, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested State Minister Jyoti Priya Mallick in connection with the alleged PDS scam. Last year, another influential Minister Partha Chatterjee, and party MLAs Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha were arrested in connection with the school jobs scam.
She took on the BJP over the allegations of cow smuggling to Bangladesh through West Bengal. “Cows for smuggling to Bangladesh are brought from different States, including UP. Who takes the cut there?” she asked sarcastically.
Breaking her silence over the recent controversy surrounding her party’s parliamentarian Mahua Moitra who is embroiled in a cash-for-query row, Banerjee slammed the Centre for “planning the expulsion” of the TMC MP.
“Their plan is to remove Mahua Moitra (from Lok Sabha). But this will help her become more popular before the elections. What she used to speak inside (Parliament), now she will speak outside.”
Despite the controversy surrounding Moitra, the MP was named the district president of the Nadia unit last week. Moitra’s constituency Krishnanagar is part of the Nadia district.
The CM also announced that she would lead a delegation of her party MPs in Delhi next month, and seek a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to demand the release of Central dues for West Bengal.
“We will again go to Delhi to protest against the non-payment of Central dues to West Bengal. In the second or third week of December, I will go to Delhi. I will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a meeting on this with a delegation of all our MPs. If he gives us time, we will place our demands before him. If not, we will take to the streets to air our protest,” she said.
The Chief Minister also asked her MLAs in Bengal to stage a dharna in front of the Ambedkar statue inside West Bengal Legislative Assembly on December 28, 29 and 30 over the issue of the Centre withholding funds for the MGNREGA scheme, the PM Awas Yojana and for roads.
Banerjee also claimed that the BJP-led Government wanted to do away with reservations and maintained that she would oppose it. “BJP is against the reservation for minorities, but we will bring them under the system through OBC quota,” she added.
Banerjee also attacked the Centre over the state of the country’s economy. “The banking sector is in the doldrums and PSUs are being sold,” she said, noting that the unemployment rate in the country was also very high.
The Chief Minister said that in contrast, West Bengal was fast evolving as a destination for investment. “All big IT companies are investing in Kolkata’s Silicon Valley project,” she claimed.