New Delhi:
Hours after Narendra Modi praised her government, West Bengal Chief Minister denied that the BJP leader's remarks carry political subtext.
"Political differences might be there. But one government can praise another," she said. "His comments not politically motivated," she insisted.
Not many would agree. At a speech in Kolkata this morning, Mr Modi, at the latest in a burst of televised speeches, sided with Ms Banerjee, who is often accused of being anti-industry and depriving her state of much-needed investment.
"What you see in Gujarat is a result of 12-13 years of hard work, not of one or two years. Congress had created such potholes that it took me so much time to fill them. In West Bengal, the Left government created these potholes for 32 years. I don't know how many years of efforts it will take before they are filled. I believe efforts are being made to fill these potholes and I am confident that the dreams of the people will be fulfilled," the chief minister of Gujarat said about his counterpart.
Since Ms Banerjee quit the central government in September, her politically unattached status has led to speculation of whether she will support the BJP in the national election, scheduled for next year. Sources in her Trinamool Congress today denied that prospect.
But Mr Modi flaunted his diplomatic skills. He made it clear that he would not compare his state's booming economic development with Bengal's, coyly suggesting that the media would turn that into a controversy.
He also castigated the Congress-led UPA for undermining federalism and for discriminating against states where it is not in power, both issues which Ms Banerjee has vented about repeatedly.