People want to hear ‘Covid ki Baat’, not ‘Mann ki Baat’: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying people were no longer interested in his “Mann ki baat” and instead want to hear “Covid ki Baat” (talks on Covid).

“The country is suffering from the worst effects of the Covid pandemic and he is doing Mann ki Baat. Who is interested in your Mann ki Baat? You should do Covid ki Baat. You have caused the disaster while aiming to conquer Bengal. You should talk about vaccines, arrange vaccines, and send medicines,” Banerjee said at a virtual rally in Murshidabad district’s Berhampore city.

The TMC chief held the Election Commission (EC) responsible for the current Covid surge in the state. She claimed that the poll panel did not test security personnel before deploying them for the state elections.

“We demanded three or four-phase elections but the Election Commission decided to poll in eight phases. They are responsible for Covid. Security forces are not at fault. Two lakh CAPF personnel came from states like UP, Delhi and Rajasthan and many of them might have been carriers of the virus without their knowledge… Around one lakh BJP cadres from other states… came to Bengal for campaigning… They must have contributed to the spike in Covid-19 cases in Bengal,” she said.

Emphasising the importance of the polls, Banerjee said, “The Bengal election is very important now. The result of the election will decide the future of India. We have to defeat the BJP and we will stop attempts to transform Bengal into Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.”