40 Trinamool MLAs in touch with me, says PM Modi

As many as 40 MLAs in Wes Bengal are in touch [with him] and all Trinamool law-makers will desert the party once the BJP wins the elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said. Addressing an election rally in Sreerampur in West Bengal on Monday, the PM said, “Political ground has slipped from under your feet.” He said the opposition camp had nothing else to do but abuse Modi. “The opposition camp revolves around abusing Modi. If you remove the abuses, nothing will be left,” he said.

Taking a direct dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, he said Delhi was far away. “With a handful of seats, ‘Didi,’ you can’t reach Delhi. Delhi is far away,” he said. The Trinamool goons in the state were preventing the people from casting their votes, he said. Accusing TMC chief Mamata Banerjee of nepotism, he said she wanted to politically establish her nephew in West Bengal.

He said Didi wanted to give him ‘rasgulla’ made of soil and pebbles. “The Soil of Bengal has the essence of greats like Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda, JC Bose, Netaji, SP Mukherjee and if Modi gets rasgulla made of this holy soil, then it will be a ‘prasad’ for Modi, he said.

PM Modi in Sreerampur: Didi said she wants to give me rasgulla made of soil & pebbles.Soil of Bengal has essence of greats like Ramakrishna Paramhansa,Swami Vivekananda,JC Bose,Netaji,SP Mukherjee & if Modi gets rasgulla made of this holy soil then it will be a ‘prasad’ for Modi pic.twitter.com/QOLSc0tahP

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019

Mamata Banerjee, who often lost her cool, was ‘sensing defeat,’ the PM said adding she cannot even dream of becoming the prime minister. “Going to Delhi is just an excuse. Her real intention is to politically establish her nephew,” he said. Ms. Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek is an MP from Diamond Harbour and the TMC candidate for the seat. Lashing out at the opposition for questioning the credibility of EVMs, Modi said his rivals had moved on from abusing him to criticising EVMs, as they faced ‘imminent defeat.’

“Earlier only Modi was abused, now even EVMs are being abused. The Opposition is doing so as it faces imminent defeat,” he said.

‘Mahamilavat wants khichdi govt’

PM Modi, addressing a rally in Jamua under Koderma Lok Sabha constituency in Jharkhand on the same day, said the grand alliance of opposition parties was trying to prevent a government with absolute majority.

“The ‘Mission Mahamilavat’ (of opposition parties) wants a khichdi government at the Centre and its strings would remain in the hands of the Congress, as the party knows it cannot form a government on its own under any circumstance,” he said. The PM also accused the Congress of rallying behind parties to destabilise governments. “Around two decades ago, a similar ‘mission mahamilavat’ tried to stop Atal Bihari Vajpayee from becoming the PM… the Congress rallied behind some parties, resulting in change of governments and prime ministers every two-three years,” Modi said.

He said the opposition’s grand alliance and its leaders owed allegiance to nobody and are only interested in votes. “They are just not interested in the development of those areas where they do not see their vote bank,” Modi said.

Without taking the name of former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda — who has been charged with cases of money laundering and coal scam — Modi took a swipe at the Congress for supporting a tainted politician.

The prime minister claimed that peace had returned to the state in the past five years, as ‘villagers in Jharkhand had to no longer relocate out of fear of the Naxals.’ “But, the Congress wants to scrap the sedition law, which will encourage Naxalites and terrorists,” he alleged.

(With inputs from agencies)