Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Tuesday accused Mamata Banerjee of exploiting the poor in West Bengal being only interested in saving a "corrupt" officer allegedly involved in the Saradha ponzi scam.
Adityanath, who travelled by road to this West Bengal town to address a rally after flying to Bokaro in neighbouring Jharkhand, also referred to the Supreme Court's order directing Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar to "faithfully" cooperate with the CBI in the investigation of the Saradha scam.
He questioned why West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee was trying to protect the police officer.
"You must have seen how she is trying to save a corrupt officer. Nothing can be more shameful, undemocratic and unconstitutional than a chief minister of a state sitting on a dharna (sit-in protest) to ensure that secrets of corruption don't spill out," Adityanath alleged.
Calling the TMC government in West Bengal as "corrupt and undemocratic", he criticised Banerjee for not allowing benefits of central schemes to be passed on to the people of the state.
Earlier in the day, Banerjee had said the Uttar Pradesh chief minister should concentrate on his own state.
The tussle between the TMC and the BJP became uglier on Sunday with the West Bengal government denying permission to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's chopper to land in the state and let him address two scheduled rallies in north Bengal.
Adityanath had to address the rallies in Raigunj and Balurghat via telephone.
He lashed out at the "anti-people" Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in the state, saying the days of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's rule were "numbered"
The BJP has condemned Banerjee over the obstacles faced by the party in conducting rallies and other events in the state, while also criticising her government for the ongoing tussle between the CBI and the state police.
A high-level BJP delegation had approached the Election Commission on Monday on issues related to West Bengal, including on blocking of rallies of its party leaders in the state.
PTI
