'Maybe offence, soft corner, or elections...': Amit Shah on Mamata Banerjee sniping at him

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday spoke to Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, in an exclusive interview on the completion of one year of Modi government 2.0, When asked about the constant attacks on him and the government by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, and probably vice-versa, Shah said, "I don't know why she does that, perhaps she likes me, hence she keeps taking my name."

'The lotus will always bloom'

Shah opined that the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal had not properly managed the situation pertaining to COVID-19 crisis and Cyclone Amphan. Furthermore, he exuded confidence that BJP will form the government in the state after next year's Assembly Elections. 

The Home Minister said, "Our attempt is that the fight against COVID-19 must be fought properly even there (West Bengal). But Mamata didi feels bad. She feels that by doing so, she will win the elections. The situation pertaining to COVID-19 and the Cyclone in West Bengal is not good. FIRs have been registered against so many BJP workers. In the coming election, BJP will form the government in West Bengal. My take is that the people of Bengal want a change. I want to say this- that how much ever muck is thrown, the lotus will always bloom."

Earlier, Amit Shah's conversation with Mamata Banerjee had been blurted out by the latter, wherein she revealed telling the Home Minister that he should handle Bengal's Covid situation himself if he was unhappy with how it was going, to which Shah replied in the negative, asking how they can bring down an elected government.

Shah on Migrant crisis

Shah refuted the opposition's criticism of the Centre's handling of the migrant workers' crisis. He mentioned that Rs.11,000 crore had been provided to the state governments to ensure that they did not have to bear the cost of shelter camps alone. 3968 trains have been operated so far to ferry the migrant workers, he said.

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Amit Shah remarked, "The narrative being created is not true. When lockdown happened, all the CMs were briefed about the guidelines and the PM told them via conferencing. The Indian government sent Rs.11,000 crore to the state governments so that the latter need not bear the cost of the camps alone. I acknowledge that migrant workers have faced difficulties and have proceeded on foot in some places. We are also pained by it. We started bus services from April 20. About 51 lakh migrant workers were sent to nearby states in April. On Labour Day, we started the Shramik trains"

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