Rahul Gandhi slams PM Narendra Modi, CM Mamata Banerjee, questions 'friendship' between two

KOLKATA: In his effort to ‘expose’ the alleged ‘Modi-Mamata bonhommie’, Rahul Gandhi today questioned the ‘reasons’ behind Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's decision of accompanying Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Dhaka to ink the Land Boundary Agreement. This was his first visit to Bengal since March 2014. His pep talk was an effort to bolster the sagging Congress morale and during the course of it, he attacked both Narendra Modi and Mamata Banerjee government.

“Why Didi did not sing Ekla Cholo Re now?,” asked Gandhi claiming the ‘alliance is now exposed.’ Addressing a workers’ meeting in Kolkata, he said, “In 2011, the UPA II requested Mamata Banerjee to visit Dhaka along with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. She refused and did not support the LBA. But now, her party not only supported LBA, but she accompanied Modi in his visit to Bangladesh. In 2011, when we approached her, she started singing Ekla Cholo Re. Now it is a different song.”

Attacking the Modi government, he further said, “Before election Narendra Modi said that they would implement one rank one pension scheme soon. The scheme was formulated by UPA II though. But, the soldiers are yet to get the benefit of the scheme. They want to know the date of implementation. And Modiji is doing Yoga.”

Reacting on the land bill issue, he added that the Modi government never had ‘the will to bring investment and employment’ and that is why the government changed the clause of returning the land to the farmers after five years of non-implementation of a project.

He further asked the voters in Bengal to let Congress drive the vehicle of development and see how Congress would ‘hit the accelerator’. Claiming that both the Left Front government and Trinamool Congress ‘put brakes on the development of Bengal’, he adds, “Only Congress can release the brakes and take the vehicle of development forward in Bengal."