
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday demanded the cancellation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's candidature from Varanasi, a day after he claimed 40 Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLAs were in touch with him.
"You are coming and you are saying 40 MLAs will go. Nobody will go; the people of our party are not thieves like yours. If you purchase everybody, you will still be unable to topple my government. I thereby demand that your nomination should be cancelled as you are indulging in horse trading," Banerjee said at a rally in Hooghly district.
Making a sensational claim in the middle of the general election, PM Modi had said on Monday that 40 TMC MLAs were in touch with him and will desert their party once the BJP wins the polls.
After Banerjee's speech, the TMC wrote to the Election Commission, alleging that PM Modi's speech indicates an "impending horse-trading" and asked the poll panel to cancel his nomination for such "provocative and undemocratic" statements.
The firebrand Trinamool Congress chief also said the BJP will not be able to establish a foothold in West Bengal, no matter how much the party "daydreams" about it.
In its letter to the poll panel, the TMC demanded "strong action" for the "unfounded, inappropriate and illegal" campaign and "utterances of the prime minister".
(With inputs from agencies)