Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday claimed that 40 Trinamul Congress MLAs were in touch with him and insinuated they were looking to switch to the BJP after it wins the election, prompting Opposition accusations of “horse-trading”. Even today, Didi, 40 of your MLAs are in touch with me),” Modi told a rally in Chanditala, Hooghly, 25km from Calcutta. Trinamul chief national spokesperson Derek O’Brien said the party would lodge a complaint with the Election Commission against Modi. “Betraying the spirit of democracy, belittling the office of a Prime Minister, and touching the height of absurdity, the PM of India stooped so low and claimed that 40 Trinamul Congress MLAs are in touch with him,” the Andhra Pradesh chief minister tweeted. “Didi, Dilli bahut dur hai (Didi, Delhi is far away),” he added, mouthing a statement made famous in folklore in the context of a battle between two medieval rulers of Delhi and Bengal.

Source: The Telegraph April 30, 2019 00:56 UTC