Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, who is on a Bangladesh tour. "Elections are underway here and he (PM) goes to Bangladesh and lectures on Bengal. It is a total violation of code of conduct of the election," Banerjee said at a campaign event in Kharagpur according to news agency ANI.
She pointed out that during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, when a Bangladeshi actor attended a TMC rally, BJP spoke to the Bangladesh government and cancelled his visa. “When polls are underway here, you (PM) go to Bangladesh to seek votes from one section of people. Why shouldn't your visa be cancelled? We will complain to the Election Commission," she said.
The TMC chief accused Modi of trying to influence voters in West Bengal where polling began for the eight-phase assembly election in the morning. Bengal reported 79.79 per cent voter turnout in the first phase of the 2021 Assembly election while Assam, which also began voting today, reported 72.14 per cent turnout. Voting for the first phase of elections in the two states began this morning - for 30 and 47 seats respectively.
