West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and said the Indian cricket team won all matches in the ICC World Cup 2023 except the one that was attended by "sinners".
“The Indian team played so well that they won all the matches in the World Cup, except the one attended by the sinners,” Mamata Banerjee was quoted by news agency PTI as saying, without naming anyone.
Her statement came days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for calling PM Modi a “panauti (bad luck)", while speaking at a rally in poll-bound Rajasthan on Tuesday. Following this, the BJP urged the Election Commission to take action against the Congress leader.
Mamata Banerjee, who was speaking to Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers at the Netaji Indoor Stadium on Thursday, said India would have won if the World Cup final had happened in Kolkata or Mumbai, instead of Ahmedabad.
She was further quoted by news agency PTI as saying, "Players resisted, so India team did not have to wear saffron jersey during matches." "Saffron is the colour of 'tyagis', but you are 'bhogis'," she said, targetting the BJP.
Notably, saffron colour has been associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), and Gujarat, where the World Cup final was played, is a BJP bastion. PM Modi was the chief minister of the state in 2002.
Banerjee also attacked the Centre over the state of the country's economy. "The banking sector is in the doldrums and PSUs are being sold," she said, noting that the unemployment rate was also very high.
She took on the BJP over the allegations of cow smuggling to Bangladesh through West Bengal. "Cows for smuggling to Bangladesh are brought from different states, including UP. Who takes the cut there," she asked.
The chief minister said that West Bengal was fast evolving as a destination for investment. "All big IT companies are investing in Kolkata's 'Silicon Valley' project," she said.
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