Mamata Banerjee accuses PM Modi of ‘marketing votes’ in Bangladesh

Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi violated the election code of conduct by “vote marketing” in Bangladesh. Her comments come during PM Modi’s visit to the country to attend its 50th Independence Day, his first visit to a foreign country since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. 

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“Elections are underway here and he (Prime Minister) goes to Bangladesh and lectures on Bengal. It is a total violation of code of conduct of the election,” ANI quoted Banerjee as saying during an event. 

She further said that during the 2019 Lok Sabha election, a Bangaldeshi actor got his visa cancelled for attending a TMC rally in Bengal, asserting that PM Modi’s visa should also be cancelled in a similar way. 

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“Sometimes they say Mamata has brought people from Bangladesh and did infiltration. But he (PM) himself goes to Bangladesh for vote marketing….We’ll complain to EC,” she said. 

PM Modi is on a two-day trip to Bangladesh. On Friday, he paid tribute to the Indian soldiers who died during the 1971 war for Bangladesh’s independence and hailed the country’s founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

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His claim of having been arrested over a satyagraha for Bangaldesh’s independence has stirred controversy in India, with opposition parties demanding proof of his participation while the BJP asserts that the claim is true.