Mamata continues tirade against army

Even as the Army provided documents to support its claim on troop deployment, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stood firm on her accusations for the third day in a row. On Saturday, she took on Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi, who disapproved of her comments.

The Army has been maintaining that the state administration was informed about the routine exercise of deploying troops at toll plazas. Talking on the sidelines of an event in Kolkata, Tripathi told reporters, “Every person should be careful while making allegations against a responsible organisation like the Army.” Mamata lashed out at him saying that he was speaking in the “voice of the Central government”. Calling Tripathi's statement “unfortunate”, she said, “He was not in the city for about eight days. Before making statements, all details should have been checked. It is very unfortunate.”

Trinamool Congress leaders, who met the governor on Saturday, criticised him for making “loose comments”. This comes a day after Trinamool MLAs and ministers staged a demonstration outside the Raj Bhavan on Friday, demanding withdrawal of Army from toll plazas, but they could not meet Tripathi since he was not available. Despite the discouragement from Tripathi, Mamata continued her tirade against the Army and stuck to her accusations that Army personnel were collecting money from passing vehicles at toll plazas.  The drama that unfolded over the 33 hours Mamata spent at the state secretariat, was part of her crusade against demonetisation.