Addressing farmers during a virtual event on Friday, PM Modi took a jibe at the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government. He said that the state was being deprived of the Centre's schemes for farmers and questioned Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's actions.
"Mamata Banerjee's ideology has destroyed Bengal. Her actions against the farmers have hurt me a lot. Why is the Opposition quiet on this?" the Prime Minister asked. He said that Bengal was the only state that was "not allowing benefits of the schemes to reach the farmers".
Prime Minister Modi on Friday released Rs 18,000 crore to over 9 crore farmers as the next instalment under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. This was followed by an interaction with farmers from six states. Coming as it does against the backdrop of the ongoing farmer protests, the event is being seen as a bid to reach out to farmers and attempt to allay their concerns. It is during this address that Modi lambasted the Bengal CM today.
"The groups who are talking about mandis, APMC are the ones who destroyed West Bengal, Kerala. There are no APMCs and mandis in Kerala. So, why are no protests in Kerala? Why don't they start a movement there? But are only misguiding the farmers of Punjab," the Prime Minister alleged.
Further details awaited.
