West Bengal polls: Sonia Gandhi takes on Modi, raises Pathankot, farmer suicides

Canning (West Bengal): Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for making “false promises”, and said the “Modi-Mamata collusion” was a grave danger to the state as well as democracy. Canvassing for the assembly polls here in South 24 Parganas district, Gandhi ridiculed Trinamool Congress supremo Banerjee’s “tall claims of development”, saying the only development was in the form of unemployment, farmer suicides and absence of law and order. “The Trinamool which forgot all the promises it made before the polls, is now harping on development. But the reality is in front of you. If there is any real development, then why is industry closing, why are farmers committing suicide, why is there unemployment?” “The industries are closing, there is no sign of law and order, there is rampant crime against women and there is so much of corruption that even new bridges are collapsing,” she said. [caption id=“attachment_2750450” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sonia Gandhi. File photo. PTI[/caption] Gandhi used the example of Hilsa, the exquisite gourmet fish of Bengal, to launch a scathing attack on both Banerjee and Modi. “You must have heard how one fish can dirty the entire pond. The Trinamool in the last five years has dirtied so much that even your Hilsa have fled…Once Bengal’s pride, such is the condition that now Hilsa has to be imported. And this is all because of Modi and Mamata.” “The BJP and Trinamool collectively have put prohibition on Indian fishing trawlers but trawlers from our neighbouring countries are being allowed to catch our fish,” she alleged. “Modi talks big about border security. When he couldn’t save the fish, how will he secure our borders? The Pathankot attack is a big example of that,” said Gandhi, referring to the January terror attack at the Pathankot air force station in Punjab. “Much like Modi says Congress did nothing in 60 years and all the development work has been done by the BJP government, Mamata too says there was nothing in Bengal before she came to power. “This Mamata-Modi collusion is a big danger for Bengal. These twin arrogant forces are a danger to democracy. “The way the Modi government is functioning, it is endangering our country’s basic structure, our secular values, endangering democracy and our age-old tradition and values,” she said. Urging people not to fall into the trap of the BJP and Trinamool’s fake promises, Gandhi called upon people to vote for the Congress and the CPI-M led Left Front which have entered into an alliance. “Five years back, the Trinamool fooled you with its tall promises and two years back Modi did the same. This time don’t get entrapped by the BJP and Trinamool’s tall promises, but vote for the Congress and Left Front nominees,” she said.