Kailash Vijayvargiya calls PM Modi undefeatable
On Tuesday, BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya compared the opposition unity to a "pack of dogs" coming together against the Prime Minister. According to him, the Modi government enjoys the support of the people and hence the TMC or a united opposition cannot do any harm to it. "Even if 50-100 dogs come together, can they fight a tiger?," said the BJP national general secretary.
BJP calls Didi 'Betaal', lashes at TMC over demonetization
Mamata Banerjee's move to protest against demonetization was critiqued by the BJP. The BJP blamed her for "falsifications" and "spreading canards" about the demonetization drive. The BJP blamed TMC of having received huge funds from a fictitious Rose Valley company before the 2014 Lok Sabha election. BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh compared Banerjee to 'Betal' saying "she keeps on blabbering lies, false statements".
2 TMC MPs held in Rose Valley chit scam
On 3 January, Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for his alleged involvement in the Rs.15,000 crore Rose Valley chit fund scam. Earlier Tapas Pal had been arrested on 30 December, 2016, Bandyopadhyay is the second TMC MP to be arrested in this scam. A livid Mamata Bannerjee called this as political vendetta.
TMC workers remove Modi's posters after Bandopadhyay's arrest
The fight between BJP and TMC escalated in West Bengal after the arrest of Sudip Bandopadhyay in the Rose Valley scam. Mamata Banerjee warned of retaliation against Centre over the CBI move. The fight reached the streets with the TMC workers pulling down posters and hoardings of Modi in Asansol, Burdwan district.
More violence between BJP and TMC
The violence between Trinamool Congress and BJP rose further with vandalism and an alleged bomb attack in Kolkata on the BJP office in Hooghly, which was set on fire on 4 January after the arrests of two parliamentarians, Tapas Pal and Sudip Bandyopadhyay.
TMC MP, Mamata Banerjee call Modi a 'rat'
Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee riled a controversy by claiming that Modi would have to go back to Gujarat like a "rat" after the protests against the note ban. These remarks drew a sharp critique from BJP. Hours after Banerjee's remark, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee too used the rat analogy to target the Prime Minister and CBI in the Rose Valley chit scam.
Mamata accuses Modi of hiding files on demonetization decision
TMC leader and West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused PM Modi of removing key files related to the decision to carry out demonetization. She asked the RBI to release data on the quantum of cash released to states after the decision was announced. She said the RBI "should stand up against the Modi government and reveal the real reasons behind demonetization."
Jaitley skips Bengal Global Business Summit
Amid turbulent relations between the TMC and the BJP, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley decided to skip the Bengal Global Business Summit. Sources stated that Jaitley was scheduled to attend the event, but decided to skip the event at the behest of the BJP high command. The Summit will go on for 2 days and will be attended by representatives from over 27 countries.
