Mamata Banerjee bursts into fury at Netaji event at Victoria Memorial before PM Modi, protests 'insult'

In a rare show, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and PM Narendra Modi shared the same stage in the Victoria Memorial Hall event in the city to mark the birth anniversary of Netaji.

Banerjee, who felt "insulted", refused to make her speech saying, "I think government programmes should have some dignity. It is a government programme and not a political one. It is for all people.

"I am thankful to the Prime Minister and Cultural Ministry for making the programme in Kolkata. But it does not look nice to insult someone by inviting him or her. I am not making an address in protest of it. Jai Hind. Jai Bangla."

Banerjee protested and cut short her speech or rather did not deliver any speech while thanking the Prime Minister for inviting her.

Slamming the BJP, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra tweeted, "Jai Shri Ram at official event to celebrate Netaji’s 125th? Jai Shri Ram in Parliament Either we stand up to this bigoted bulldozing where religion = government or India perishes."

CPI-M leader Md. Salim said, "The incident is condemnable. This should not have happened. On the contrary, Mamata Banerjee also used the government programmes, press conferences for political purposes in the past. Now we don't know who has learnt from whom."

Congress Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has also condemned the incident. 

Going against most of his colleagues, BJP spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya said, "This incident should not have happened. This is unfortunate."

BJP co-incharge in West Bengal, Amit Malviya tweeted, "Mamata Banerjee insulted the legacy of Rabindranath Tagore by refusing to attend Viswa Bharati’s centenary celebrations. She has done the same by not delivering her speech on the occasion of Netaji’s anniversary celebrations. Bengal will not tolerate this disregard of its icons."