Mamata Banerjee on Thursday recounted how she had spent a sleepless night at Nabanna on May 20 last year when Cyclone Amphan had scythed through south Bengal and how she had used the entire pool of resources at her disposal to support people, from shifting them to safe houses to providing relief and rehabilitation.
The chief minister’s reminiscence, albeit it wasn’t the first time she brought it up, was apparently a bid to counter the allegation by the BJP that Trinamul Congress leaders had looted funds and other material granted for Amphan relief.
“The person who is a self-proclaimed chowkidar (watchman) fled before Amphan hit our state. I spent three days at Nabanna before the cyclone hit. I recall that the entire building was trembling and we were almost apprehensive of the building collapsing…. But we were at Nabanna till the cyclone’s tail left Bengal,” Mamata said at her election rally in Sagar.
The Trinamul supremo who attended two meetings at Pathapratima and Sagar in South 24-Parganas — a district substantially affected by the cyclone — did not pull her punches in her attack on Union home minister Amit Shah, who had been accusing “the nephew and company” of swindling the Amphan relief funds.
“(Narendra) Modiji has been sending a lot of money. Amphan had come, right... Modiji had sent Rs 10,000 crore, did you get anything? Where did the money go? The nephew and company have usurped it,” Shah had told a rally at Gosaba in South 24-Parganas earlier this week.
Gosaba is in the Sunderbans, which bore the direct brunt of Amphan.
Mamata said at her two rallies in the coastal areas of the district, claiming that none other than her government had given money to extend help to Amphan-affected areas.
“Those asking Mamata Banerjee about Amphan money, ask them whether they gave even a rupee for Amphan…. Narendra Modi came once and surveyed the situation from a chopper, like a film, and left the state. Later, he sent only Rs 1,000 crore, as an advance from what we already get from the Centre. We have spent Rs 8,000 crore to rebuild houses, roads, restore electricity in the affected areas,” said Mamata.
“If anyone gave money as relief for Amphan, it is Mamata Banerjee. Narendra Modi, you have to answer where the (Centre’s) money for Amphan went. You have to answer why you did not give money after Amphan,” she said in her rally at Pathar Pratima.
“It is large scale work and there were one or two mistakes, naturally. But for that, how dare they tag Trinamul a thief? Am I a thief? Am I a robber? Am I a murderer? You are all murderers, and you looted money by selling all assets in the (Union) government sector,” she said from her meeting in Pathar Pratima.
Mamata said how her government had shifted around 19 lakh people to safe homes before the cyclone had hit the state.
“My mothers and sisters, you witnessed the tragedy of Amphan. If we did not shift 19 lakh people before the cyclone hit in six districts, at least 17 lakh people could have died. Twenty lakh houses were damaged,” said Mamata.
She also accused the Modi government of not helping the Gangasagar Mela, despite its support to the Kumbh event in Allahabad.
“You always give money for Kumbh, but you never helped the Gangasagar Mela. Here, we, the state government, arrange for everything. We ensured insurance of Rs 5 lakh for each pilgrim. One day, we will make Gangasagar bigger than the Kumbh event,” said Mamata.
Trinamul leaders said Mamata bringing up Gangasagar Mela was an attack on the BJP, an attempt to turn the Hinduism tables on it.
“It is a fact that the Centre did not help in the Gangasagar Mela. Didi has made several infrastructure arrangements to organise the fair peacefully and in an exponentially better way. It will resonate with the people of Sagar,” said a Trinamul leader.
Mamata, who later attended two more rallies in Dantan and Midnapore of West Midnapore, persisted with her attacks on the Modi government over the Amphan issue.
