Kolkata, Apr 24 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi could enjoy a boat ride on the Hooghly in the state because its waters were clean, unlike the Yamuna in Delhi, which she alleged was polluted.
Addressing an election meeting in Howrah, Banerjee said Modi would not be able to undertake a similar boat ride on the Yamuna in the national capital due to pollution, blaming the BJP-led administration there for the river’s condition.
She said it was good that the prime minister chose to take a boat ride on the Hooghly River, where riverfront areas had been beautified by the state government and civic bodies, including the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
Responding to Modi’s claims about women’s safety in Bengal, Banerjee said he should assess the situation himself and compare it with BJP-ruled states.
“See how safe women are here — in the city, in the state, on the streets — unlike BJP-ruled places like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere, where incidents of attacks on women are reported every day,” she said.
“Why do you forget about Hathras and Delhi? Please go to Manipur, which is burning. Why are you silent on Manipur?” she asked.
Referring to alleged remarks by Union Home Minister Amit Shah that “TMC tormentors will be hung upside down publicly” after May 4, Banerjee questioned whether a Union minister could issue such threats.
“With all decorum and respect, may I ask if a Union minister can issue any such threat?” she said.
The chief minister expressed confidence that her party would secure a decisive mandate in the polls.
“The first phase has already confirmed that TMC will win with a big mandate in the two-phase Assembly polls. The joy of BJP leaders is short-lived,” she said.
Banerjee also objected to Shah allegedly describing Kolkata as a city of slums, asserting that it was “among the front-ranking industrial cities in the country”. PTI
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