Even as Kolkata continues to nurse its wounds following last week’s flyover collapse that claimed several lives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the tragedy was ‘God’s message’ to the people of Bengal to save the state from the ruling party.
"It is an act of god in the sense that it happened during election time so that people may know what kind of government she (Mamata Banerjee) has been running. God has sent a message to the people - that today this bridge has collapsed, tomorrow she will finish off entire Bengal. God's message to you all is to save Bengal," Modi said.
He accused Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee for blaming the Left Front that gave the contract for the flyover project for the accident, instead of keeping herself busy with the rescue work.
"The flyover collapsed, such a big tragedy; if some chief goes what does he or she do; they try to save people, assist in rescue work. But what did Didi (Banerjee) do? The first thing she did was to declare that it was the Left Front that gave the contract (for the project)," NDTV reported, quoting Modi.
Last Thursday, a portion of an under-construction flyover in busy north Kolkata had collapsed, killing at least 25 people and trapping hundreds under the debris.
Modi accused Banerjee of "adjusting" with corruption and claimed that her party, TMC, stood for "terror, maut (death) and corruption".
He said the West Bengal Chief Minister boycotted meetings called by the Centre to discuss the issue of states' development and failed to bring about any transformation despite her call for 'paribortan' (change).
"What kind of a Chief Minister is she? Whenever the Centre has called a meeting to discuss development of states, Didi has boycotted it, even if it hurt her state," Modi said.
"She (Banerjee) did not attend those meetings only because Modi convened it. But whenever she visited Delhi, she met (Congress president) Sonia Gandhi and took her blessings," the Prime Minister told an election rally at Birpara in north Bengal.
He also attacked the Congress for having "fallen at the Left's feet" in Bengal while the party was fighting the communists in Kerala.
"If there is ideological difference between them, it should be there both in Kerala and Bengal," he said, wondering whether they could be trusted.
"Please go through the videos of Congress leaders five years back when they had criticized the Left. The first-ever Left government in Kerala was dismissed by the Congress government. Now see the magic, Congress is moving behind communists by holding their hands," he said.
He said the Left and the Congress were trying to "fool" the people by fighting against each other in Kerala while at the same time forging an alliance in Bengal.
"The people will give them a befitting reply. There was a time when the Congress had over 400 members in the Lok Sabha. But now see the people's anger, the Congress' strength has come down to 40 seats," he said.