PM Modi slams TMC's 'Khooni Khela' in WB rural polls; Mamata hits back

Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the TMC's purported utilisation of violence on Saturday (August, labeling it a "Khooni Khela (bloody game)" to win West Bengal's panchayat elections. This led to a strong retort from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who urged him to exhibit appropriate behavior and accused him of tarnishing the state's image.

The prime minister, who virtually addressed the BJP's Panchayati Raj Parishad in West Bengal, criticised the ruling TMC for using "terror and threats" to intimidate the opposition parties in the state during the rural polls last month while acting as "champions of democracy".

Alleging that the "ruling TMC let loose a reign of terror" in West Bengal during the rural polls, Modi said people of the state had blessed BJP candidates despite threats.

"Panchayat elections were held in Bengal recently. The entire country saw TMC's khooni khel. Violence has been used as a means to threaten the opposition. The 'tolabaz' army of TMC looted votes. This is TMC's politics. But despite this, the love of the people of Bengal has led to the victory of BJP candidates," he said.

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Modi also claimed that those who act as champions of democracy and question EVM at the drop of a hat had undermined the democratic process in Bengal.

"The TMC did everything to ensure that the BJP candidate can't file nomination papers. They threatened not only BJP workers but also the voters. On the day of the election, the goons of the TMC didn't allow people to vote.

“The TMC gave out contracts to capture the booths. This is their way of doing politics in the state. While counting the votes, the TMC forced BJP's counting agents out and ran away with ballot boxes," he said.

Criticising the TMC-led government in West Bengal, Modi highlighted the ongoing struggle of BJP workers in the state and said even if the BJP candidates managed to win, "they had to face violence." In a sharp rebuttal to Prime Minister's remarks, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed he is maligning the state.

"The Prime Minister and the BJP should not talk about West Bengal. He did not take action against his own corrupt party leaders and those involved in character assassination, atrocities on women, atrocities on wrestlers and atrocities in Manipur.

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“The BJP killed 15-16 people during rural polls in Bengal. You must behave properly instead of giving indulgence to such people," the TMC supremo said.

Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said it seems the Prime Minister is yet to accept his party's defeat in the 2021 assembly polls.

"It seems the Prime Minister is yet to accept his party's defeat in the 2021 assembly. His remarks against West Bengal and TMC reflected BJP's deep-rooted hatred for the state's people," he said.

The ruling Trinamool Congress registered an emphatic victory in West Bengal's violence-scarred three-tier rural polls.

Banerjee had claimed that 29 people, mostly from her TMC, died in poll-related violence since the election date was announced on June 8.

Police sources, however, have put the number of fatalities at 38 but agree that at least 60 per cent of those who lost their lives were affiliated with the TMC. 

(With agency inputs)