Bengal CM Mamta Attacks PM Modi On CBI Reports

Ms. Banerjee says PM "Deserve the Blame for that"

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee slammed Prime Minister Modi. Also, she made herself the target of Congress and CPM. Their spin -- the Chief Minister is "going soft on him".

Ms. Banerjee, a critic of the Prime Minister, had surprised many by her comment yesterday that all but cleared him of any role in investigations that might be making businessmen flee India.

While pointing out the CBI reports to the Union Home Ministry, controlled by Amit Shah, and not the Prime Minister's Office, she said, "BJP leaders (who) are conspiring" deserve the blame for that."

The Congress, which had hit the streets against the misuse of Central agencies, was particularly harsh. The party's leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused Ms. Banerjee of being a "Trojan horse" in the opposition fold.

"Mamata is holding out an olive branch to PM out of desperation. The reason is obvious. When the ruling dispensation of West Bengal has been confronting the investigating agencies, who have been acting at the behest of the court, the TMC itself has been rattled," said Mr. Chowdhury, who shares a particularly bitter relationship with Ms Banerjee.

Adding more, he said, "The image of Mamata Banerjee as a politician, who holds the impression of integrity and honesty, has been shattered... Now Mamata Banerjee is shuddering with fear because she knows where the shoe pinches."

The CPM, whose 35-year rule was ended by Mamata Banerjee in 2011, went a step further. Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress were "born as an offshoot of RSS in 1998," said party leader Sujan Chakraborty.

"People who do not know the internal events and chemistry of the Trinamool Congress or Mamata Banerjee with PM Modi or others might be upset. But we, who have information... are not upset," he added.