Modi grandfather of corruption: Mamata
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim to battle corruption and branded him as the 'grandfather' of corruption.
"He had promised to bring back black money and what happened to the promise of Rs 15 lakh? His tenure will end in a month but he doesn't seem mentally prepared to go out of power. The expiry date of the Modi government is near," Banerjee said reacting to Modi's back-to-back rallies at Thakurnagar and Durgapur on Saturday.
"They have destroyed the economy with demonetisation and implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) in a hurry. This is a fascist government. He has no courtesy. He does not know the manner in which a Prime Minister should speak or behave. His arrogance will soon end," the Trinamool chief said.
"Demonetisation is a big scam. Jan Dhan is a big scam. Rafale is a big scam. The BJP is involved in gas dealership scam and child-trafficking," she said.
Banerjee made it clear that her party would continue to oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
"They want us to pass the Citizenship Bill. They are driving out Bengalis. Even Biharis and Nepalis are being prosecuted. About 22 lakh Bengalis have been left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). We will not allow them to incite riots in this manner," she said reacting to Modi's request seeking the TMC's support for the passage of the Bill at the rally in Thakurnagar in North 24-Parganas.
Reacting to Modi's allegations that the Trinamool Congress has deprived people of Bengal by pulling out of the Centre's newly-launched health scheme 'Ayushman Bharat', Banerjee said: "Health is a state subject. So are education and agriculture. We have Swasthya Sathi scheme. Healthcare is free in Bengal. They only speak about the welfare of people during elections."
She also accused the Narendra Modi government of copying the state government's projects but failing miserably while implementing them. "The Budget of 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' scheme per state is Rs 3-4 crore. The Budget for Kanyashree scheme in Bengal is Rs 7,000 crore," she added. Banerjee also lashed out at the Prime Minister for accusing her of preventing the Central agency officers from carrying out probe in Bengal.
"Just because he was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation, everyone else has to be questioned too? His role in the Godhra riots is a known fact, hence he was questioned. His political career started with the Godhra riots. He has ruled for five years with the help of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate," she said making it clear that she would not allow the Bharatiya Janata Party to create Hindu-Muslim riots in her state.
Banerjee said people were tired of the riot syndicates, lynching syndicates and the 'gau-rakshak' syndicates.
Reacting strongly to the Prime Minister's defence on the 'Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi' scheme launched during the interim Budget on Friday, she stated: "More than 12,000 farmers committed suicide during the Modi rule in India."
