Kolkata: Trinamool Congress today attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was behaving like a “Shakha Pramukh” and bringing disrepute to the office of Prime Minister by making wild allegations against TMC.
“We heard the comments of the Prime Minister made about our party. Making up a clever-by-half abbreviation, based on wild allegations and using the initial letters of the name of our political party, was in poor taste to say the least,” TMC national spokesperson Derek OBrien said in a statement.
OBriens comments were in response to Modis blistering attack against Mamata Banerjer and TMC which, he said, stands for “Terror, Maut and Corruption”.
“These are not the words befitting the Prime Minister of India. They bring his high office to disrepute. Mr Prime Minister, maybe we need to remind you that you are the Prime Minister of this great nation and of all Indians, irrespective of community and region. Do not reduce yourself to a Shakha Pramukh. Please grow with your job,” OBrien said, in an apparent swipe at Modis RSS roots.
“The Trinamool Congress is far from being a corrupt party. We dont run advertising campaigns for elections running into billions of unaccounted and unaccountable dollars,” the TMC spokesperson said.
“Neither do we play cheap politics over a tragedy. As for terror, we are all for combating it but not by raising paranoia, targeting innocent fellow citizens and raising communal temperatures. But then you, Mr Shakha Pramukh, would know about terror, given your record in 2002,” OBrien said.
TMC secretary-general Partha Chatterjee reacting to Modis charge that Banerjee had boycotted meetings called by the Centre alleged that the NDA government had deprived the state by either stopping or reducing funds.
“The BJP-led NDA government has stopped 40 projects meant for the welfare of the people. It has also slashed funds by 50 per cent for 39 other projects,” he said.
“Bengal has been deprived by the Centre and Modi-babu is saying we are not doing enough for the development of the state,” Chatterjee said. PTI