Mamata frustrated, petrified in face of defeat: Modi

April 7, 2019
Cooch Behar:  The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee venting her anger on the Election Commission, on her officials, and on him, showed she fears defeat in the coming Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.

Addressing a rally at the Raash Mela Maidan here, Modi again dubbed Banerjee as “Bengal’s speedbreaker ‘Didi’ (elder sister, as Banerjee is called)” and said the enthusiasm of people at his rallies symbolised a wave in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“The more you chant ‘Modi, Modi’, the more she loses her sleep. Who is she?..speedbreaker. Bengal’s speedbreaker Didi, who is not having sound sleep,” Modi said.

While addressing an election meeting four days back in Siliguri in north Bengal, Modi had also called Banerjee the “speed-breaker” to Bengal’s development.

“She is taking out her anger and frustration on her officials. She is taking out her anger on the Election Commission. If somebody wants to understand how in politics the ground slips from under the feet, then didi’s irritation and anger gives a good idea,” Modi said.

“The way she is using choice invectives against me and attacking the Election Commission, indicates she is petrified,” said Modi to thunderous applause.

The was uncertainty on Saturday over the holding of Modi’s rally after the Trinamool Congress refused to stop the construction of a stage for Banerjee’s election meeting on the same ground on Monday – around 30 metres from the one built by the BJP for Modi to address the rally.

The local authorities finally allowed the Trinamool Congress to complete constructing the stage, but asked the party to take down the bamboo barricades it had begun erecting for the people attending Monday’s meeting.

Referring to the episode, Modi pointed to the under-construction stage and said: “This is a monument of Didi’s defeat, a living example of Didi’s end.”

Modi alleged that the stage was built to reduce space for the people attending his rally, and ridiculed the Trinamool Congress’ behaviour as “child-like antics”.

Accusing Banerjee of having slowed down the speed of central projects, he asked people to teach “speedbreaker Didi a lesson,” and expose her real face.

Referring to the Saradha and Rose Valley chit fund scams and the Narada sting footage, he said: “Everyone knows where all the money went. I assure that chowkidaar will take an account of all those who looted the poor people,” he said.

He also accused Banerjee of “unsuccessfully trying to stop the NRC (National Register of Citizens) in Assam” and making efforts to put a break on the Citizens’ Amendment Bill “that was meant to give security to the people of the soil”.

Upping her ante against the Bengal Chief Minister, Modi claimed that she was always talking of ousting him from power as she was “upset” over a number of Indian achievements starting from becoming a “superpower in space” to its actions against terrorism.

Comparing the scenarios in Bengal and Tripura, where the CPI-M led Left Front ruled for 25 years, Modi said the BJP has not adopted the Left model after coming power in Tripura and has charted a new path of development.

“We chased away goons and corrected the problems in bureaucracy, paving a path for development. What did Didi do in Bengal? She took the shortcut. The shortcomings of the Left regime were adopted by her and she followed their path.

“No one had imagined that this will be the fate of Bengal after Left rule. Not even me,” he added.

Referring to the enclave issue with Bangladesh, Modi claimed the BJP government has solved the “decades long problem” while previous regimes at the Centre had chosen to ignore it.

Banerjee had also referred to the issue during her rally in the district four days back and claimed all the credit should go to her government for taking the initiative.

Referring to the Balakot airstrike, Modi said while the erstwhile Central governments were scared to take action against terrorism, the “new India” under his leadership is ready to kill terrorists even by entering their homes.