Narendra Modi Calls Left-Congress Alliance Bogus, Says Mamata Has Accepted Defeat

Kolkata: On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee has virtually “accepted defeat”, which was evident in the manner in which the first three phases of elections were held in the state.

 “Today another phase of election has ended. Earlier when polls ended, we used to hear it was largely peaceful. But here, after the end of the third phase today, we hear news that many were beaten up, killed and of booth capturing,” Modi said at an election rally in support of BJP candidate Rupa Ganguly for the Howrah (North) Assembly constituency. “This only shows that Mamata didi has accepted defeat,” he further added.

At a rally in Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district, Modi said: “In 2011, when Didi (Banerjee) came to power, everybody hoped she will bring a new dawn, driving away the 34 years of darkness under the Left Front. But instead of a new sun, people of Bengal were given nights darker than those under the Left.”

Charging the successive Congress, Left Front and the Trinamool regimes with “destroying Bengal”, Modi said it was Bengal’s political culture to “play politics over development”. “We sent money for the East West Metro corridor, but the state government created roadblocks. Similar is the story of many central schemes where we sent money but the state government keeps on creating roadblocks. Unlike the BJP, it is the political culture of Bengal to play politics over development,” Modi said at a public meet in Howrah.

The prime minister’s remark came on a day when the third phase of the assembly polls involving 62 seats spread across four districts, were marred by incidents of violence including a Marxist agent killed in alleged poll-related attack in Domkal in Murshidabad district.

Praising Mamata during her initial political career, he said she used to fight incessantly against injustice and corruption.

He spoke about his three-point agenda — development, fast-paced development and all-round development — and said development was the only answer to all the problems faced by the people.