Mamata flays Modi, calls him 'expiry babu'

Dinhata (West Bengal), April 3 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi "expiry babu" after he called her a "speed breaker" in the path of the state's development.

"I will not call him Prime Minister; he is 'expiry babu' as his government has passed the expiry date," Banerjee told an election meeting here in Cooch Behar district.

Referring to Modi's speech in Siliguri earlier in the day where he said the Mamata Banerjee-led government had done nothing for the poor, the Chief Minister said: "You first answer what your government has done in five years."

"I am not Modi, I don't tell lies," she said, adding that Modi made false claims about the performance of her government in the state.

Taking on Modi for his barbs on her, Banerjee dared the Prime Minister to a public debate.

"If he thinks what he has said is true, he should come for a debate with me. Once he puts the questions, I will give all the replies. With his 56-inch chest, he is telling 560 inches of lies," she alleged.

Referring to the many welfare schemes launched by her government in the state, Banerjee also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of spreading rumours about her government's performance to alleviate poverty.

"These people do not read history, geography and mathematics... expiry Prime Minister, you are forcefully speaking lies. Knowing your defeat, you are telling lies out of fear but falsification doesn't suit a Prime Minister," the Chief Minister said.

She further said: "You must look into the documents of the Government of India. Our government is number one in '100 days of employment'. Aren't you ashamed to tell lies?"

Banerjee also slammed the BJP for giving ticket to turncoat Nisith Pramanik from the Coochbehar Lok Sabha constituency.

Showing a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) letter, in which Pramanik was alleged to be involved in human trafficking and possessing illegal arms, Banerjee said: "You have given Lok Sabha ticket to a person whom we threw out of our party. You give ticketS to all those who have criminal cases against them and then call us looters."

Responding to Modi's remarks on the state government's performance for the development of the ailing tea gardens, Banerjee said: "During the Assembly elections, you had promised to open seven tea gardens. Have you kept the promise? If I am wrong, you can file defamation suit against me."