CMs not allowed to speak: Didi

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday directly accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of barring her and other Opposition party CMs from speaking up for their demands on Covid-19 pandemic at a virtual meeting chaired by him.

This was also the first time the Trinamul Congress supremo came face to face with Mr Modi officially after her party came to power for the third time in the state by defeating the BJP in the Assembly election.

Tearing into Mr Modi, Ms Banerjee alleged, “Ten CMs, including me, were present with some district magistrates there. We however did not allow the DMs from our state to attend it since a CM, if present, gets the priority over them. In a federal structure, though the CMs were invited, they were not allowed to speak about their public demands. They were made to sit like puppets and bonded labourers. Only the PM kept talking without even giving us a chance. It was just a casual and a superflop meeting.”

She said, “We were astonished at the bulldozing of the federal structure by an arrogant PM as if martial law has been imposed in the country. We felt insulted and humiliated. It happened one way. I think all the non-BJP-ruled states should form a team to lodge a protest.”

The TMC chief wondered, “Why is the PM feeling so insecure and scared? Why is he fleeing away? In his speech, he claimed that Covid-19 deaths are decreasing. Then why are so many deaths there? Why are bodies being thrown away in the river? Namami Gange has now become Mrityupuri Gange.”