Mamata jabs Modi, says PM can boat on Hooghly, not Yamuna

KOLKATA: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Friday dismissed PM Narendra Modi’s earlymorning boat ride on the Ganga as a photo-op for political gains and dared him to go into the “polluted” Yamuna in Delhi.“Our Ganga is clean. That is why the PM could enjoy the boat ride. Can he do the same in (Delhi’s) Yamuna?” Banerjee said.“This is election politics, photoshopping. You took a boat ride on the Ganga; that’s fine, you are welcome. I go to Chandannagar; I go to Ganga Sagar too. But I challenge you — will you go to the Yamuna in Delhi and take a dip? The Yamuna in Delhi is completely polluted. You cannot manage the Yamuna in Delhi, yet you come to our Ganga and take photos,” the CM said at a rally in Howrah.Addressing a rally in the port area later, she said, “He (the PM) should do a comparison between Bengal’s Ganga and Delhi’s Yamuna. Our Ganga is clean; that is why he could indulge in a boat ride. The event was nothing but a photo-op for political gain.”The CM called the PM’s jhalmuri stopover in Jhargram a “totally staged” act. “Is it believable that he carries a Rs 10 note with him? If you really love Bengal, will you try our fishand-rice once? I will cook it for you,” she said.TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, addressing another public meeting, called PM Modi “Bengal’s biggest brand ambassador”. “Why do they come only during the polls? They should come to Bengal throughout the year. Come and enjoy the delicacies here. Because the PM travelled and made reels, people now know how beautiful Bengal is and the development Mamata govt has done here. Had he not campaigned like this, would people have seen how the rivers of Bengal are so clean and beautiful, or how the roads of Jhargram are so nice?” he said.