Didi's comedy show

Some of the more memorable comments made by West Bengal's intrepid chief minister

"I personally met the prime minister at least 10 times. What else can I do? Shall I go beat him up? Then people will call me a 'goonda'. Anyway, they call me that. But I don't care”
January 2013

"Earlier if men and women would hold hands, they would get caught by parents and reprimanded. but now everything is so open. It's like an open market with open options"
February 2010, on rape

"[Ratan] Tata babu, you may be rich, but no matter how many times you say Nano, we say no-no,"
August 2008

""There has been an influx in the number of babies from Bihar in recent times and so everybody is saying that crib deaths have increased"
January 22, inaugurating a fair price medicine shop at Kolkata's SSKM Hospital

"Before spreading panic over infants' deaths, mind it that all those unfortunate mothers who lost their child conceived much before we took charge of the state. So rather than accusing us, you have to find out what has Left Front done in the 34 years of their tenure?"
February 3, 2012

"You should invest in Jangalmahal. Don't be scared. We all will have to die one day"
October 17, 2011, addressing industrialists at a post-Durga Puja event

"After the Babri Masjid incident, I used to roam around in the streets risking my life. Another person who used to do the same was Mother Teresa"
January 21, 2013, at a public rally in Canning

"Mr Dhanuka please come up and sing us a song. Violin, violin...”
January 16, to C K Dhanuka, chairman of Dhanuseri Petrochem and Tea, at an investors’ summit in Haldia. She also exhorted Sanjiv Goenka, chairman, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, to join in

"And what about you Mr Patton Tank?”
January 9, 2012, to Sanjay Budhia, MD, Patton Group , while taking a roll-call of industrialists at Bengal Leads 2011