West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said she was “not happy” with the language Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar used in a letter written to her, ANI reported. The Trinamool Congress chief said she had criticised the government on its policy and had not targeted the Indian Army.

“I take strong exception to your wild assertion that my articulation of [the] rights of [a] state government has impacted the morale of the armed forces,” Banerjee said. “During my long political and administrative life, [I] have never seen such political vendetta,” she said, adding that it was not appropriate for a minister from the central government to “pass near-defamatory remarks on a chief minister of any state.”

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In his letter, dated December 8, Parrikar had criticised Banerjee for dragging the Army into controversy when she had alleged an “attempted military coup” in the state last week. The Trinamool Congress president had questioned the Army’s presence in several parts of the state. Parrikar explained that the Army’s Eastern Command in West Bengal had carried out an exercise on December 1 and 2 after consulting concerned state agencies.

“Your allegations in this regard run the risk of adversely impacting the morale of the country’s armed forces,” Parrikar said in the letter, explaining that the exercise had been carried out to collect data on the movement of vehicles at toll gates. “Army authorities were forced to put the record straight in the matter by presenting evidence of their communication.”

Parriker further urged Banerjee to not politicise matters of the Army. “Political parties and politicians may have the luxury of making wild and unsubstantiated allegations against each other, but one needs to be extremely careful while referring to our armed forces,” he said. The row between the two political leaders