Cyclone review was a ‘big BJP party’: Mamata

KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, a day after she was accused by senior BJP leaders of skipping a review meeting chaired by Modi to take stock of the damage caused by Cyclone Yaas.

Banerjee accused the BJP of playing a “dirty game” and carrying out “political vendetta” following its poll debacle in the recently ended assembly elections after the Centre on Friday recalled the state’s chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay to Delhi.

“If the PM tells me to touch his feet and in return promises to help Bengal, I am ready to do that. But please don’t humiliate and insult me. Please stop playing this dirty game. The PMO was giving out one-sided manipulated news,” Banerjee said.

On Friday, the BJP’s top leaders, including the party’s national president JP Nadda and Union home minister Amit Shah, uploaded pictures of the PM’s meeting with empty chairs while accusing the CM of skipping the review meeting.

“Mamata Didi’s conduct today is an unfortunate low. Cyclone Yaas has affected several common citizens and the need of the hour is to assist those affected. Sadly, Didi has put arrogance above public welfare and today’s petty behaviour reflects that,” Shah tweeted. “I felt bad the way I was insulted and humiliated yesterday with fake news being planted by the PMO while central ministers echoed the same lie as parrots. While we were working in cyclone-hit areas trying to save people, they were busy in maligning us,” she said.

“They are giving out pictures of empty chairs. Where is the photo of the Prime Minister sitting and I was standing next to him and bowing down to speak to him,” adding that she left after taking the PM’s permission.