West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday, 5 April, that she was unaffected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Didi-O-Didi” taunts during the state Assembly elections.
“He does this every time. I don’t care,” said Banerjee, as quoted by PTI.
Modi and Banerjee have been at loggerheads this election season. PM Modi has been criticised by women leaders, including Mahua Moitra for sarcastically addressing Banerjee as “Didi-O-Didi” during various rallies in West Bengal, in the run up to the elections.
TMC Will Win: Mamata
Banerjee, aiming for a third term in office, also reiterated that her party Trinamool Congress will win, and will not be ruled by an “outsider” from Gujarat. The TMC supremo called herself a Royal Bengal tiger and said, “I will win Bengal with one leg and Delhi with two legs.”
Banerjee was allegedly attacked while campaigning in Nandigram on 10 March and the doctor treating her noted that she had suffered severe bone injuries on her ankle and shoulder. She was discharged from SSKM Hospital in Kolkata on Friday, 12 March, two days after she was injured.
In the aftermath of the attack, The Trinamool Congress wrote to the Election Commission alleging a “deep-rooted conspiracy” to take Banerjee’s life and linked it to the sudden dismissal of the Bengal police chief a day before, for which it had blamed the BJP.
The Election Commission of India (ECI), however, on Sunday, 14 March, ruled the incident as an accident and not a planned attack, saying that the decision was based on a report by state’s observers and chief secretary, reported PTI. Minutes after the announcement, the poll body suspended the police officer in charge of the chief minister’s security in Nandigram, IPS Vivek Sahay.
CM Banerjee Eyes Delhi
Banerjee slammed the Centre for the recent Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh that claimed the lives of 22 security personnel, asking the BJP led government to focus on proper governance instead of the West Bengal elections, added the report.
CM Banerjee asserted that her party will win the polls despite her injury, after which she will aim for power in Delhi, reported PTI.
The Trinamool chief took another dig at BJP, noting that the party was fielding sitting MPs for assembly polls due to a dearth of suitable candidates.
Banerjee also questioned why West Bengal elections were being held in eight phases, the longest ever in the state, saying it could have been done in 3 or 4 phases and wrapped up early in the light of COVID-19 infections in the country, reported PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
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