Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and warned that if she severed ties with the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), several districts in southern Bengal would plunge into darkness.

The leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly questioned whether Banerjee considers herself equivalent to the Prime Minister, asserting that her statement undermines the federal spirit of the country.

Banerjee on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the state would sever all ties with DVC for "unilaterally releasing water" which led to floods in south Bengal districts.

"Is she making such comments fully aware of their implications, or merely for public consumption, given the rising protests against the rape-murder of a doctor at R G Kar hospital? The situation is revealing the misdeeds of her party, the TMC, and her government’s health department," Adhikari told a press conference.

He emphasised, "If Mamata Banerjee cuts ties with the DVC, eight districts will lose power. Doesn’t she realise that DVC-run power plants supply electricity to a significant portion of South Bengal?"

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