Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of insulting the Constitution by refusing to accept him as the country’s prime minister. Modi was addressing a rally in West Bengal’s Bankura district.
“Didi [Banerjee] is publicly saying that she is not ready to accept the country’s prime minister as the head of the nation, but she feels proud in acknowledging Pakistan prime minister as that country’s prime minister,” Modi said.
The prime minister claimed that Banerjee was afraid of losing the Lok Sabha elections. “She is now talking about stones and slaps against me,” he said. “I am used to abuses, I have now got the ability to digest abuses from dictionaries from around the world.”
Modi claimed that Banerjee was only interested in working for her family’s betterment. “The chief minister is not interested in the betterment of the state, but that of her family, nephew [Abhishek Banerjee] and tolabaj [extortionists] of her party,” he added.
The prime minister claimed Banerjee had not received his telephone call when he tried to contact her during Cyclone Fani. “The central government wanted to sit with officers of the state to discuss the situation, but didi did not allow that too,” Modi added.
Modi alleged Banerjee had refused to participate in the nationwide celebrations of surgical strikes held to mark the “the success of the sons of the soil in killing Pakistan’s terrorists in their homes”.
On May 6, Banerjee had refused to accept Modi as the prime minister and described him as the “expiry PM”. The following day she said Modi should get a “tight slap of democracy” for alleging that extortionist syndicates run the Trinamool Congress government in the state.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!