New Delhi: Hours after defence minister Manohar Parrikar attacked West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in a letter, Didi was quick to respond and said: "During my long political and administrative life, I have never seen such misuse of a respected organisation," referring to the army.
"They don't know how to write a letter to a chief minister," she said.
A surprised Mamata also said that her complaint was not against the army but the government and its policies. Taking a dig at Parrikar, she said: "I take strong exception to your wild assertion that my remarks had ‘impacted the morale of the armed forces’. Your remarks about the chief minister of a state are near defamatory."
Referring to her December 1 letter wherein CM Mamata had accused the Centre of creating a situation "worse than Emergency" by deploying Army personnel at Palsit and Dankuni toll plazas on NH-2 in West Bengal without informing her government, Mamata said: "I had, in essence, pointed out loud and clear that your ministry had not taken state's permission for deployment of armies in civil areas simultaneously at different places."
Hitting out at the Centre, Mamata said that the government paid no heed to Kolkata Police's objection.
"Earlier, we offered full cooperation but this ministry made a departure. Written clearance from the state government should be invariably obtained before initiating any such exercise.”
Manohar Parrikar had on Friday, in a letter, to Mamata Banerjee expressed pain over dragging the Army into a controversy after she accused the Centre of creating a 'coup-like’ situation in West Bengal.
"I have been deeply pained by your allegation, your allegation in this regard runs the risk of adversely impacting the morale of armed forces and the same was not expected from the person of your standing and experience in public," he had written.
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