Mamata's referendum remark an insult to Parliament, says Smriti Irani

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for demanding a UN-monitored referendum on amended Citizenship Act and proposed nationwide NRC, saying her remark was an insult to the Parliament.

The Union Textile minister is in the city to attend an event at a city hotel.

"The comment (made by Banerjee) is an insult to Indian Parliament. The legislation has been passed by the Parliament," Irani told reporters when asked to react on the chief minister's assertion over the new citizenship law.

"The statement from the chief minister is an attack on the democratic structure of the country and no one in the country will agree to her views," she said.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had on Thursday dared the Narendra Modi government to go for a UN- monitored referendum on the amended citizenship act and the proposed nationwide NRC and said he will have to quit if it fails "mass vote".

Banerjee's comment drew sharp reactions from the BJP leadership which asked the TMC supremo not to make herself "a laughing stock".

"Does she realize what she is saying? She should stop making herself a laughing stock. I think her advisers have stopped giving her good advice," union minister Babul Supriyo had said on Thursday.

Banerjee, who has been at the forefront of protests against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) across the country and the new citizenship law, has led three marches criss-crossing the city since Monday.

She is scheduled to address another rally in minority- dominated Park Circus area on Friday.