Bhubaneswar: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has blamed the BJP and Bajrang Dal for the recent incident of violence in Cuttack.
Banerjee said that Cuttack is "burning" and accused the BJP of spreading communal tension.
“They (BJP) will finish off the country. I have seen many governments, but never such an arrogant and dictatorial one. Today they are in power, tomorrow they may not be. Nothing is permanent,” she said.
Reacting sharply to her comments, Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal said, “It’s not appropriate to comment on Mamata Banerjee, but everyone can see what’s happening in Bengal. She should rather focus on her own state.”
Senior BJP leader and Odisha Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan also criticised Banerjee, terming her remarks unfortunate and condemnable.
"What happened in Cuttack was an accident, and the situation is now completely under control. The city is peaceful. Making such statements about Odisha is irresponsible," he said.
Harichandan further said that Banerjee should look at the law-and-order situation in her own state before commenting on others. “Law and order in West Bengal is in complete disarray. The people of Odisha have faith in their government. Mamata is trying to defame Odisha, its language, and its culture at every opportunity," he added.
He said the people of Odisha do not expect such comments from the West Bengal Chief Minister and advised her to understand her own failures first before pointing fingers at others.