While they were located in two different ends of the State– one in north and the other in south Bengal– Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and BJP chief Amit Shah continued with their war of words on Thursday, third day in a row, accusing each other of intimidation and failure respectively.
Ms Banerjee alleged that the BJP president was trying to “intimidate” the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), while Mr Shah argued that Bengal has “failed” to grow over the years.
“They (BJP) are afraid of TMC and are trying to intimidate us. But, the TMC cannot be browbeaten. Those who challenge me, I accept the challenge. We will capture Delhi,” Ms Banerjee said at a public meeting in Siliguri in north Bengal. On the other hand, asserting that Bengal was “next” on the (BJP's) radar, Mr Shah said the State has “failed to grow like other States.”
Poverty-stricken
“It (Bengal) is the most poverty-stricken State in the country and if our party comes to power, it would flourish like Maharashtra and Gujarat,” Mr Shah said. He said under BJP rule in Bengal, no one would have to “approach the court” for the immersion of Durga idols and the people would be free to observe religious festivals such as Saraswati puja.
Earlier, the BJP chief visited three houses at Gouranganagar, on the outskirts of the city, as part of a mass contact programme aimed at expanding the saffron party's base in the State. Mr. Shah had on Wednesday visited a slum in Ms Banerjee’s Bhawanipur Assembly constituency.
In an apparent reference to BJP president's visit to a slum in her constituency in Kolkata, Ms Banerjee said: “They come from Delhi and spread lies. They are in a hurry (to capture power in Bengal). They are threatening to unleash the CBI on TMC leaders. They cannot handle Gujarat, but they are eyeing Bengal."
“Before the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP had promised to bring back black money but nothing has happened. It is easy to talk big at the time of elections,” she said. Referring to the BJP's promise to take over (sick) tea gardens, Banerjee reminded the gathering that over a year had passed since the promise was made, but nothing had happened.
(With agency inputs)
