Sonia alleges Mamata-Modi nexus

Alleging a nexus between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said the Trinamool Congress chief was following the same anti-people policies which Modi was pursuing at the Centre.

"I would like to caution you, the person who calls herself 'didi' (elder sister, as Banerjee is affectionately called), and the one who orchestrates the 'NaMo, NaMo' (Narendra Modi) cries, the two of them are together.

"When Prime Minister Modi faces problems in parliament, the Trinamool stands up to save him. In return, Prime Minister Modi turns a blind eye to the Trinamool's anti-people activities," Gandhi said at an election rally here in Bengal's Malda district.

Banerjee asked the people whether Modi and Banerjee had taken any action against the chit fund companies which looted thousands of crores of rupees from the poor in Bengal.

"They didn't, because the BJP and the Trinamool eat from the same plate."

She said the way 'didi' duped the people of Bengal who had given her a mandate in Bengal, Modi had done likewise at the Centre.

"The way didi uses money, power and muscle to silence critics, Modi adopts the same tactics to bring down the Congress governments in various states. The Bengal chief minister does not send to jail those who looted poor people's money. Similarly, Prime Minister Modi lets those who loot banks to easily flee the country."

Refering to the alliance between the Congress and the Trinamool in the 2001 assembly polls in the state, Gandhi said five years back, her party had backed Banerjee, as she had promised to protect the interests of the poor, women and marginal sections.

But once Banerjee came to power, she forgot all her promises, Gandhi regretted.

Ridiculing the Trinamool slogan of "Ma (mother), mati (land) manush (people)", the Congress president said that while "sisters" of Bengal were now suffering, the land had dried up and the people lacked employment.

Gandhi also attacked Banerjee over "death of newborns and babies", plight of potato growers and "law and order failure".

She said that despite having a woman chief minister, Bengal topped in the number of atrocities against women.

Turning to Malda, famous for its mangoes, she said the state government did not give the right price to mango growers last year.

She said that even Malda's world famous silk industry has suffered, due to import of silk.

"It seems the Mamata government is not concerned with all these issues. In Bengal, everybody is unhappy. Only those who are with those running chit funds, and those who are making money by looting the poor are happy," she said.