Mamata politicising cyclone Fani, refused to talk to me: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of pursuing "cheap politics" over cyclone Fani, claiming that she did not speak to him when he tried to contact her to talk about the calamity.

"I am just back from Odisha after reviewing the post-cyclone situation. I also wanted to speak to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over phone to discuss the issue. I had called her, but Didi is so arrogant that she didn't speak to me. I waited for her call but she didn't get back to me," he said while addressing a rally here.

"Speedbreaker Didi was more interested in doing politics. I wanted to speak to the state officials but the state government did not allow that to happen," he said.

His comments came in the backdrop of the TMC hitting out at Modi for calling state Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi instead of talking to the chief minister to enquire about the ground situation in the wake of cyclone Fani on Friday.

Criticising Banerjee for not praising the efforts of the union government that led to the UN designating Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, he claimed that the Trinamool Congress supremo "was afraid that it might affect her vote bank in the state".

"The condition in Bengal is such that if you chant Jai Shri Ram, you would be put behind bars," he said.