‘Didn’t expect him to call us thieves’: Mamata Banerjee hits back; accuses PM Modi of turning blind eye to corruption under ‘double-engine’ governments

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his recent remarks that labelled the TMC as “thieves,” and said that he should not disrespect her chair and the state. Speaking at a government programme in Bardhaman town, Purba Bardhaman district, organised to distribute social welfare schemes’ benefits, Banerjee described Modi’s comments as an “insult” to the people of West Bengal. She accused the Centre of withholding central funds, which she alleged has imposed a “heavy burden” on the state exchequer. “The Prime Minister should respect my chair as I respect his. I never expected him to call the people of West Bengal ‘thieves’,” the Chief Minister said. “In truth, he has turned a blind eye to the performances of the so-called ‘double-engine’ BJP governments of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar, where corruption is at its highest,” Banerjee claimed. PM Modi had previously, at a public meeting in Kolkata on August 22, stated that “corruption, crime and the Trinamool Congress are synonymous.” He alleged, “The funds that the Centre sends to the West Bengal govt do not reach the people but are devoured by TMC cadre.” Alleging that PM Modi travels to West Bengal “like a migratory bird every time there is an election knocking on doors,” Banerjee on Tuesday asserted that the state administration has satisfactorily replied to all queries from the Union govt about utilisation of central funds for welfare schemes. “We have answered all your queries, yet you stop fund disbursement and call West Bengal ‘thief’. They had sent 186 central teams to West Bengal to probe corruption charges and found nothing. How can a student accept getting zero marks after answering all questions? We will not tolerate this insult,” she added.