Prime Minister's Office counters TMC phone call claim

Contrary to Trinamool Congress' claims that Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi did not phone West Bengal (WB) Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee to enquire about Cyclone Fani, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Sunday said that two attempts were made to reach Banerjee but she didn't respond and that Banerjee's claims are false and incorrect.

According to sources, PM Modi called twice to connect with the WB CM on phone, but on both occasions, she was unavailable and did not return the calls.

A political blame game has started between the Centre and the WB government over Cyclone Fani just as the fifth phase of polling is to begin on Monday morning.

"The first time, the staff who were attempting to place the call were told that the WB CM is on tour, and the call will be returned. On the second occasion too, the staff attempting to place the call were told by the CM's office that the call will be returned," a PMO official said.

On Saturday, the TMC lashed out at Modi for calling WB Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi instead of talking to Banerjee to inquire about the ground situation in the wake of Cyclone Fani. TMC also alleged that Modi doesn't respect the federal structure of the country.

TMC secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said, "This is an attack on a federal structure and a deviation from the Constitution. By calling the Governor he has acted as leader of BJP and not as a PM. How can he deny the mandate of our people? Banerjee is the elected CM of Bengal. This is unfortunate."

As WB braced for cyclone Fani's landfall, the PM spoke to Tripathi, on Saturday to know about situation prevailing on ground. During his conversation with Tripathi, the PM reiterated the Centre's readiness to provide all help needed to cope with the extremely severe cyclonic storm. "Also conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani," Modi had said in a tweet.

BJP and the TMC are locked in an intense political battle in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and the current round of bickering could be seen as a part of this.