Kolkata: A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha Election campaign rally in West Bengal, chief minister and Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee asserted that anyone can visit the state to hold political programme during polls.
On Thursday Mr Modi will address a BJP rally at Rasleela ground in Coochbehar at around 3 pm to support his party candidate Nisith Pramanik who is contesting the LS polls against TMC candidate Jagadish Barma Basunia, the Sitai MLA from the Rajbanshi community.
Ms Banerjee, who has been in North Bengal to supervise the relief operations for the affected people in the aftermath of the Tornado, is also scheduled to hold a rally at Mathabhanga in the same district hours before Mr Modi's rally.
The distance between the venues of their rallies is 30 kms. Asked about the PM's rally, she said, “Anyone can come here. Every political party has its right. Why are you asking me this question? All political parties can hold their programmes during elections.”
In the morning she participated in the public outreach campaign to the team workers in Dooars. Coochbehar along with two other districts, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri, will go to the polls in the first phase on April 19.
Ms Banerjee’s MP nephew Abhishek Banerjee however expected the PM during his tour to reveal the amount of central funds under released various schemes to the state.
The TMC national general secretary said, “I will expect that he would come and furnish WHITE PAPER. I will expect him to furnish details/ White Paper of the amount paid to Bengal under Awas + and MGNREGA since 2021, after they lost Assembly Polls here.
He added, “If people would have been living under a pucca house (roof), they would not have faced the wrath of a massive storm in Jalpaiguri. But, because BJP-led Centre stopped the funds for Awas, this damage has taken place. A two-year-old child, in Maynaguri, would not have been admitted to hospital, had Centre released funds to Bengal. The blame is completely on BJP!”
