\'Crossed all limits\'\, says Sushma to Mamata\'s \'slap of democracy\' remark

‘Crossed all limits’, says Sushma to Mamata’s ‘slap of democracy’ remark

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in a tweet said that the West Bengal chief minister had crossed all limits with her remark that she would like to give the PM a “tight slap of democracy” and reminded her that “tomorrow you have to talk to him only”.

lok sabha elections Updated: May 08, 2019 10:11 IST
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday tweeted some words of advice for West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, saying that she had crossed all limits with her remark that she would like to give PM Modi a “tight slap of democracy”.(Prabhakar Sharma/ HT Photo)

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday jumped into the vitriolic battle of words between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal chief miniser Mamata Banerjee with some advice for the firebrand West Bengal leader.

In a tweet, she wrote, “Mamataji, you have crossed all limits today. You are the chief minister of a state while Modiji is the prime minister of the country. Tomorrow you have to talk to him only. I would like to remind you of a couplet by Bashir Badr: Rage all you want, but keep in mind that tomorrow if we become friends, don’t be ashamed.”

Swaraj was reacting to a statement by the Trinamool Congress chief that she would like to give the Prime Minister a “tight slap of democracy”.

At a rally in Santuri in Purulia in West Bengal on Tuesday, the West Bengal chief minister said, “Money doesn’t matter to me. That is why when Narendra Modi came to Bengal and accused my party of being tolabaaz, I wanted to give him a tight slap of democracy.” “Tolabaaz” is a Bengali term to describe organised extortion.

Mamata’s outburst was in reaction to the Prime Minister’s claim that her government was following the “Triple T” rule: Trinamool, Tolabaazi and Tax.

Continuing her tirade against the PM, Mamata Banerjee said, before accusing the TMC of engaging in ‘Tolabaazi’, the prime minister should make public “how much money he earned from demonetisation”.

On Monday, Banerjee had said Monday that she wished his fabled 56-inch chest would double to 112 inches as she wants everybody to be in good health.

“He has a good figure, I want it to get better; I will be happy if 56-inch becomes 112-inch. I want everybody to be in good health,” she said at an election rally in West Bengal.

In this electoral campaign, both the leaders have been trading names with the PM referring to her as “speed breaker didi” and Mamata responding to him with the title “expiry PM”.

First Published: May 08, 2019 10:02 IST