Why Mamata Banerjee said ‘Amit Shah owes me a dhokla treat’

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday put out data in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s stinging criticism of her government’s performance during his two-day visit to the state last week. 

During a press conference in Kolkata, Mamata offered a point-by-point rebuttal to Amit Shah’s charge to stress that Bengal has progressed well  under the Trinamool Congress regime. 

She put out data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to claim that the crime graph of Bengal has dipped in the last decade. Mamata highlighted that Kolkata has been accorded the ‘safest city’ tag twice. 

“When the home minister of the country says something, it should be backed by data, facts and figures. Bengal is ahead of other states on all development indices. I was challenged… so here is my reply,” Mamata said.

“According to NCRB data, political killings, other incidents of crime and rape cases have decreased under the TMC rule. Even suicides here are now being termed as political killings. BJP leaders, while pointing fingers at others, should also speak up against the Hathras rape-murder incident in Uttar Pradesh,” Mamata added.

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The TMC chief said Amit Shah made her state look like a land of nightmares, however, the on ground reality was completely opposite to it. 

“He (Shah) made Bengal seem like a land of nightmares. He made Bengal look like a state that is underdeveloped, with no jobs. Do you know what the situation was in Bengal 11 years ago? How can you compare? I have no objection with the truth, but if there is no truth to the criticism, I will challenge it. Amit Shahji owes me a treat. I love Dhokla and other Gujarati food,” Mamata quipped.

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Interacting with media persons at a press conference in Bolpur on Sunday (December 20) , Amit Shah had accused the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal of failing to deliver on several fronts. Shah said the state lags behind most states in the country on various parameters, except on corruption and extortion