Modi wave creation of corporate houses: Buddhadeb (Roundup)

CPI-M leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Friday claimed the "wave" surrounding BJP's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi was a creation of corporate houses, and accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of declaring an "all-out war" against the Election Commission (EC).

"There is no Modi wave, rather it is a creation by the corporate houses who are using the media for their ends. Modi is only about the corporate houses and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) which does not believe in the constitution.

"Bengal and Modi do not go hand in hand. He is charging in with a sword in his hand. The people of Bengal will never make the mistake of voting for the BJP," Bhattacharjee said when he met the media at the Press Club here.

The former West Bengal chief minister expressed concern over Modi's rally Thursday in Varanasi that was beamed on TV channels across the country on a day when polling was held in 117 Lok Sabha constituencies across 12 states.

"It is alarming to see how the corporates have been able to churn out such a gathering. It was unjust and inappropriate that the rally was telecast across the country on a poll day. The damage has been done," he said.

Bhattacharjee, a politburo member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), also ridiculed the much touted "Gujarat model of development", saying it was solely aimed at making the rich richer.

Admitting that the state's erstwhile Left Front government too had its share of differences with the poll panel, he said Banerjee's relentless attack and public outbursts against the commission were unprecedented.

"We too had our differences, but we never declared a war against the EC. It is unheard of, the way she has been attacking the EC, the language she has been using, her body language," said the veteran Marxist leader.

With the EC compelling the Bengal government to twice remove several officials and policemen from poll duty, Banerjee has led a no-holds-barred attack on the panel, accusing it of colluding with the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the CPI-M to ensure the Trinamool's defeat in the polls.

"She did not even hesitate to accuse a senior official of criminal charges. How can she launch such an attack on another constitutional body? It is unheard of and I don't know how it is being allowed to happen," said Bhattacharjee.

He was referring to Banerjee's claim where she accused Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi of being involved in a scam in Rajasthan and sought his removal from the poll panel.

On the Saradha chit fund scandal, Bhattacharjee questioned the Trinamool Congress' aversion to a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the multi-crore rupee scandal.

"Let there be a CBI probe so that whoever is guilty is punished. We are not afraid, the CBI should come in so people may know where the huge money has gone," he said.

The biggest financial scandal to rock the state is back in the limelight following the arrests of scam kingpin Sudipta Sen's wife and son with the opposition sharpening its attack on the ruling party, while the Trinamool too has hit back with vengeance.