Indus Valley Times

KOLKATA, NOV 23: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday took a veiled jab at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Indian cricket team’s recent World Cup final loss.

“Team India would have won had the finals happened in Kolkata (at Eden Gardens) or at Wankhede (in Mumbai). Our players were made to wear gerua (saffron). The players resisted, so India team did not have to wear saffron jersey during matches,” Mamata said.

Mamata Banerjee while addressing Trinamool Congress workers at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata said, “They were making our players wear saffron jerseys. Our players opposed changing their blue jerseys, so they added a touch of saffron to the blue jersey.”

“Indian cricketers played very well that they won all the matches but in the last match they (PM Modi and Amit Shah) went to watch,” Mamata Banerjee said.

Continuing her tirade, the chief minister without taking anybody’s name said, “Wherever the paapi (sinners) go, they take along their sins. One must not forget the saying, paap baap ko bhi nai chorta (Sin spares none).”

India lost to Australia at the ICC World Cup final held in Ahmedabad on November 19.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had suggested that India had lost the match as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in attendance.

 “Ache bhale hamare ladke waha pe World Cup jeet jaate, par panauti ne harwa diya (our boys were almost winning the World Cup, but the ‘bad omen’ made them lose),” the Congress MP said while campaigning at Rajasthan’s Barmer on Monday. The Election Commission on Thursday issued a show cause notice to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over these remarks.

Also, in her very first remarks on the allegations of cash for query levelled against party MP Mahua Moitra, Mamata claimed that the BJP was planning to expel the latter from the Parliament.

“Their (BJP’s) plan is to remove Mahua Moitra (from Lok Sabha). This will help her become more popular before the elections. What she used to speak inside (Parliament), now she will speak outside…” the West Bengal Chief Minister said.

The chief minister said that Mahua’s expulsion from Lok Sabha will only help the MP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Mamata also lashed out at the BJP and said that she has never seen such a cowardly party. “We kept our alliance’s name as INDIA, the next day, they changed the name of the country to Bharat,” she said.

Further, Mamata Banerjee targeted Governor CV Ananda Bose and said, He lives a colourful life and nothing else. He didn’t complete his work properly, not a single bill passed. Not Hitler, but a new jamindar sitting here in a chair.”

-PTI