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PM Modi refers to WhatsApp outage to target Mamata govt: 'Development down in Bengal for 50 years'
The chief minister too came out all guns blazing, branding the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which leads the government at the Centre, as the "biggest extortionist" in the world.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday used the nearly hour-long outage of WhatsApp and Facebook to take a jibe at chief minister Mamata Banerjee in poll-bound West Bengal. This was PM Modi's second rally in three days in Bengal, where Assembly elections will be held in eight phases.
Referring to the 50-minute outage of the messaging platforms, PM Modi said that people got upset with it. "But in Bengal development has been down for 50 years... your dreams have been down for 50 years," he said.
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The Prime Minister also said that industries are closing down in West Bengal while "syndicate culture and mafia raj" is flourishing. "Mamata Didi stands like a wall to block all development schemes," he alleged. Over 123,000 users reported issues with Instagram and more than 23,000 users reported issues with WhatsApp on DownDetector, reported The Verge. The technical glitch took place after 11 pm on Friday. It was restored nearly an hour later.
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In an apparent reference to 'Didi Ke Bolo' (Tell Didi) campaign of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), PM Modi said, "People of Bengal have been saying Didi ke bolchhi uni sunchhen na (we are telling Didi but she doesn't listen)."
The chief minister too came out all guns blazing, branding the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which leads the government at the Centre, as the "biggest extortionist" in the world. She said that the BJP should never be allowed to rule the state.
"BJP is the biggest 'tolabaz' (extortionist) in the world... Just see the amount of money it collected under the PM Cares Fund. If the people of West Bengal want peace and a state free from riots, then the Trinamool Congress is the only option," she said at a rally in Haldia.
Banerjee said the BJP cannot fight elections in a democratic manner and it "thrives by giving threats".
The Assembly elections in West Bengal will take place in eight phases beginning March 27. While the TMC has vowed to return to power, the BJP has said that it is determined to stop that from happening. Many of the state BJP leaders have given a challenge that the party will win more than 200 of the 294 seats for which elections will be held.
The BJP has planned a series of rally for PM Modi to intensify its campaign. Banerjee too is touring the state and addressing rallies on wheelchair after an incident in Nandigram, where she was reportedly attacked by a few people.
The final round of voting will take place in West Bengal on April 29. The counting of votes will be held on May 2.
