PM Modi’s Swipe at Mamata’s EC, EVMs Allegations

Taking a swipe at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for questioning the credibility of EVM machines and Election Commission (EC), Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there is no doubt that she was losing as “if a player raises questions over the umpire’s decision, time and again, then it is a sign of defeat”.

Addressing a public rally in Tarakeshwar in Hooghly district on Saturday, PM Modi said, “Bengal has always given a clear mandate to save their motherland from misrule. They are not confused over what they have to do when it comes to save their motherland.

“They always succeeded in their examination and ensured the defeat of those who wanted to play with the aspiration of people in Bengal. This time also, with the first two phases of polls in Bengal, it is clear that people have decided to reject Didi (Mamata Banerjee) to bring ‘asol parivartan’ (real change) in Bengal.”

The PM said he was sure that with every passing phase of the elections, Mamata would become more fussy and increase her verbal attacks on the party.

“Nowadays, she is also questioning the credibility of EVM machines and the Election Commission. In Cricket, if a player raises a question on umpire’s decision time and again, then it is clear that there’s some problem in his or her game,” he said.

Raising the issue of a Tata Nano-Singur controversy, Modi said, “TMC cheated the people of Singur and used the anti-land acquisition movement for their political interest. Today, people in Singur especially the youths and farmers are directionless. There is no industry in Hooghly, which was once known as industrial belt. Farmers don’t have cold storage to keep their produce and they are fed with the syndicate raj.”

Reacting to PM Modi’s comment on Singur, CPI (M) legislature Sujan Chakraborty said, “It is unfortunate that he (Narendra Modi) is making such statement today. It was BJP who supported Mamata during Singur movement and now BJP is trying to wash their hands from it.”

Defending the Singur movement, TMC spokesperson, Kunal Ghosh said the party’s movement was not against the factory but it was against the forcible acquisition of farm land. “Today, whatever PM Narendra Modi has said is unfortunate,” he said.

BJP vice president Jay Prakash Majumdar said did not see anything wrong in PM Modi’s statement and blamed TMC for current ‘misrule’ in the state.

Based on the party’s internal assessment that BJP was leading in the first two phases in Bengal polls, PM Modi further said, “Didi..O….Didi….please accept your defeat…You are losing and its clear in front of you. It is unfortunate that Didi is comparing this election with ‘khela’ (game)…but for us, this election is not ‘khela’ but ‘manusher seva’ (service to people).”

“I wonder why there is so much of bitterness in Didi’s speech when Bengal is known for its sweet culture, sweet language and famous ‘misti doi’ (sweet curd),” he said.

PM Modi claimed that on May 2, West Bengal will get a double engine ‘sarkar’ (government), which would provide ‘double benefit’, to the people of the state.