BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of “being silent” on the Augusta Westland VVIP chopper scam.
He said Ms. Banerjee was silent out of her fear that if she spoke on the issue, then the Congress would attack her on the Saradha scam and the Narada sting case.
Mr. Shah was addressing a BJP rally in Ms. Banerjee’s constituency, Bhawanipur, in South Kolkata.
South Kolkata will go to the polls on April 30.
Attacking the Chief Minister over the Narada sting operation in which several senior Trinamool leaders were seen accepting bribes, Mr. Shah asked why she did not take action against them. He also targeted Ms. Banerjee on the recent flyover collapse in north Kolkata.
Mr. Shah questioned Ms. Banerjee’s argument that the contract was awarded to the Hyderabad-based company IVRCL by the Left Front government.
“What stopped you [Ms. Banerjee] from cancelling the contract? It was renewed during your tenure. The bridge collapsed because of a ‘syndicate’,” Mr. Shah said.
Urging the voters of Bhawanipur to vote against Ms. Banerjee, Mr. Shah said the “change in Bhawanipur will usher in a change in Bengal”. He criticised the Left and the Congress for their “power-hungry” alliance.
