BJP leaders feasting in Rath Yatra made by public fund: Mamata Banerjee

Addressing a rally at Raiganj in north Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress supremo said, "There is no idol in the rath. They are feasting inside the rath.

"I have no problem if the rath is carrying the idols of Jagannath, Balaram, Subhadra. Why would BJP leaders be there? Are they bigger than Jagannath, Balaram, Subhadra, Krishna?"

"They are feasting on public money. This is a shame in the name of Gods. They are doing immortal things," she added.

Hitting back at Banerjee, BJP co-incharge in West Bengal, Amit Malviya tweeted, "Pishi is clearly rattled by the success of BJP’s PoribortonYatra (s) and the participation it is seeing. She just can’t stop speaking about them in her rallies... She loathes Jai Shri Ram, but suddenly her speeches are laced with imagery from Ramayana. She knows her time is up!"

The Rath Yatra, dubbed as Poriborton Yatra by the BJP, was launched by the saffron party chief Jagat Prakash Nadda last week.

Banerjee, who is aiming to win back the lost ground in north Bengal through a series of rallies, also targeted the Left and Congress from the same land.

"The CPI-M, Congress and BJP have united against me. We have to defeat them," the feisty 66-year old leader said, projecting herself as the only saviour when it comes to West Bengal.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on last Sunday alleged that the Left, Congress and Trinamool are colluding with one-another and doing "match-fixing" in disguise of their fake political rivalry. 

"We will be fighting the Trinamool but be careful of the Left and Congress too. The Left, Congress and Trinamool are doing match-fixing and holding hands behind the curtains," Modi had said. 

In the 2019 General Elections, now Union Minister Debasree Chaudhuri had won from Raiganj in Uttar Dinajpur district.