Modi uttering half-truths: Mamata

The Bengal chief minister posted a tweet, in which she included the statement attacking Modi on his priorities

Mamata Banerjee : Telegraph Picture

Meghdeep Bhattacharyya   |   TT   |   Calcutta   |    26.12.20  : Mamata Banerjee hit out at Narendra Modi on Friday evening, reacting sternly to his allegations on her government’s approach towards farmers in Bengal, and accused him of misleading the people with “half-truths” and “distorted facts” for political gains instead of addressing the real concerns of protesting farmers.                            

The Bengal chief minister posted a tweet, in which she included the statement attacking Modi on his priorities.

“Our farmer brothers & sisters have been on streets protesting against new farm laws. Instead of addressing them, PM today chose to mislead the people with half-truth & distorted facts. BJP-led Centre is not cooperating & only indulging in propaganda for petty political gains,” she posted on the microblogging site.

In the two-page statement that she included, Mamata pointed out that lakhs of farmers were protesting on the streets and demanding the withdrawal of the controversial farm laws, which she said are “anti-farmer” as they threaten to dilute the minimum support price, the state procurement system, and take away their basic protective mechanisms.

“While he publicly claimed his intention to help farmers of WB through his PM-Kisan and alleged non-cooperation of the (Bengal) state government….Let me set the record straight – we have always been ready to cooperate in the interest of the farmers,” she added.

The Trinamul chief has been a thorn in the flesh for Modi and his party amid their discomfort at the groundswell of opposition from farmers, especially from states like Punjab and Haryana, where the minimum support price is a key issue.

While the saffron camp could have chosen to disregard her “unconditional support” to the farmers’ movement, as they had during her resistance to demonetisation, or played down her opinion, as they had during her anti-citizenship tripod movement, they cannot afford to do either now, with the timing being so close the crucial Bengal polls.

Mamata brought up two letters she had written both in the public domain to Union agriculture minister Narendra Tomar, stating Bengal’s conditions for inclusion in the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi.

The chief minister had made it clear in the letters that the state government already had schemes of its own to cater to the needs of the potential beneficiaries under the central scheme.

At the same time, the state government was open to allowing the central scheme additionally, if the Centre was willing to fully fund them and route the disbursement of funds through the state machinery.

“When we are implementing so many schemes with the central government, the question of not cooperating on a scheme that is benefiting farmers seems absurd,” she wrote on Friday.

“The fact is that this BJP-led central government is used to indulging in politicking even at the cost of violating the established practices and norms regarding the implementation of central schemes by state governments.”

She added that she was willing to do anything in the interest of the people of Bengal, even if it meant supporting such schemes, “purely meant to further their political agenda, are at odds with the spirit of federalism, and are definitely not guided by their desire to help the people at large”.

Modi’s attack against Mamata possibly came in the wake of two delegations sent by the Bengal chief minister to express solidarity with the protesting farmers at the Delhi borders.

While she lauded their movement with her “full support”, the farmers also hailed her gesture and urged her to visit them.

Mamata has thrown her weight firmly behind the cause and her party has already carried out a slew of programmes this month, including a three-day dharna at the Gandhi statue on Mayo Road.

“… let me remind you that my ideology is consistent with the vision of founding fathers of this country, and I have wholeheartedly served the people of WB with the right intent, efforts, and with everything I have,” she wrote.

“For me, the people of the state are my family. I have full faith that they will not only see through these malicious allegations but will also recognise what we have done for the state and give a befitting reply to those who are trying malign us and our state,” she added, after reiterating her demand for the Centre to clear Rs 85,000 crore in outstanding dues to the state.

“For all the posturing of the central government, the fact is that the Modi government has done nothing to help the state of West Bengal,” she added.

A Rajya Sabha member from Trinamul said her “farmer-friendly image”, from the Singur-Nandigram days, has been a crucial part of her political capital. “Others might relent on such issues, but she certainly won’t…. She is unwilling to miss opportunities now to make the right noises that are likely to be echoed in the pan-India space,” he said.