We're stuck in between 'Howdy Modi', 'Rowdy Didi': CPI-M's Md Salim

In a veiled reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, CPI-M leader Mohammad Salim has said that people of West Bengal are in "distress" as they are stuck in between 'Howdy Modi' and 'Rowdy Didi'.

"In Bengal, people are in distress. One person asked how all are you doing? I said we are in distress. The person asked why? I said on one hand, there's 'Howdy Modi' and on the other hand, there is 'Rowdy Didi'. We are stuck in between," he said while addressing a gathering here on Thursday.

The CPI-M leader had in December last year stoked controversy by making a below the belt remark where he compared Modi and Banerjee with 'desi' and 'videshi' (Indian and foreign) breeds of dogs and said that there is no difference between the two.

"When the government employees were demanding DA (dearness allowance), our Chief Minister asked them not to bark (gheu gheu). Similarly, our Prime Minister during his tenure as the Gujarat Chief Minister was questioned by the opposition. He told them 'Bhauk Raha Hai'," Salim said at an event in Burdwan.

"What is 'Gheu Gheu' in Bengali is 'Bhaukna' in Hindi. When street dog barks, we call it 'Gheu, Gheu' but if any Alsatian dog barks, then we say - Bhau, Bhau. There is no much difference between the CM and the PM but only of the breed -- Desi and Videshi," he added.