Mamata Banerjee on Monday narrated the ordeal of Jet Airways' non-paid staff to highlight the problems allegedly afflicting the Indian economy after five years of Narendra Modi’s rule to argue against his re-election.

The chief minister, who held two campaign rallies in Murshidabad — first at Beldanga and then at Bhagabangola in the afternoon, said staff members of the airline had approached her at the Bagdogra airport on her way back to Calcutta at the conclusion of her north Bengal tour last week.

“When I was returning from Bagdogra, I met the Jet Airways staff at the airport. They approached me. They were crying,” said the Trinamul Congress chief at Bhagabangola.

“Unemployment and discontent have become so high in the country. Do you want this chaiwala-turned-chowkidar? This chowkidar is nothing but a chor. He is a liar,” she added.

Mamata’s Jet Airways reference came shortly after the carrier’s pilots’ body, the National Aviators’ Guild, appealed to the State Bank of India to release Rs 1,500 crore — proposed to be infused as part of a debt-restructuring plan — and pleaded to Modi to save 20,000-odd jobs in the airline.

The carrier’s pilots, engineers and senior staff were last paid for December in 2018.

Although the public sector Indian lenders, led by State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, took control of the airline on March 25, the situation turned for worse as only six-seven of the 120-strong fleet are operational.

Calcutta, Bagdogra and the entire eastern region have been the worst hit as Jet suspended most of the operations.

“So many people have lost their jobs because of the policies of that man and his BJP government. Unemployment, price rise, farmers’ problems are the burning issues. The economy has been destroyed,” said Mamata at Beldanga, 50km away from Bhagabangola.

“If Modibabu comes back to power, I don’t know if any job will be safe, any savings, any aspect of the economy or its institutions. I don’t even know if elections would ever be held again in India. A total dictatorship would be established,” she warned.

“He loves travelling the world, let him become a globetrotter. We don’t need him to run the country. A common minimum agenda will be decided by all parties after the elections. A people’s government will be formed at the Centre.”

Mamata went on to reiterate her allegation against the Congress’s Behrampore and Jangipur candidates — Adhir Chowdhury and Abhijit Mukherjee, respectively — that they had the backing of the RSS.

“The RSS is working on behalf of the Congress in Behrampore and Jangipur. So, voting for the Congress or the CPM will mean voting for the BJP. You must vote for Trinamul and nobody else,” the chief minister said, urging the electorate to ensure Trinamul victories in the three Lok Sabha seats in the Murshidabad district.

Trinamul has never won a Lok Sabha seat in the district.

Behrampore MP Chowdhury, who has been winning since 1999, described her allegation as “laughable”.

“Everybody knows who brought the RSS and its sisters to Bengal as an NDA constituent in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee era,” he said.