Close X
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
ADVT 
India

I make a living by selling my books: Mamata

Darpan News Desk Darpan, 06 May, 2014 11:08 AM
    Responding to an attack by BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and the Left who have asked her to disclose who brought her painting for Rs 1.80 crore, Mamata Banerjee Tuesday claimed she makes a living by selling her books and does not take any privileges as West Bengal chief minister.
     
    "I manage my living my selling my books. But the opposition has a problem with that too," Banerjee said in election rallies in North 24 Parganas district.
     
    She said she since has struggled a lot, she chronicled her experiences for posterity to benefit from it and recalled that the royalty of her first book was given to the victims of violence in Amta.
     
    "I do not take any privileges as the chief minister. I do not draw salary as chief minister or use government cars. Even when I am visiting districts, I pay for my own expenses," she said.
     
    Refering to the sale of her paintings, Banerjee said the money collected was handed over to the spastic society and the chief minister's relief fund.
     
    "The money raised from the sale of my paintings is taken in the form of cheques in favour of 'Jago Bangla' (the Trinamool mouthpiece)," she said.
     
    Asking the opposition to counter her on policies, Banerjee said: "I am ready to answer all their questions".
     
    She said the Communist Party of India-Marxist mouthpiece Ganashakri was "full of advertisements" given by the chit fund aided Saradha Group. "They have taken money from chit funds."
     
    "Before raising the bogey of chit funds, the Left should answer who was in power when chit funds were founded in Bengal," she said.
     
    Accusing several media houses of taking money from Saradha to publish ads, Banerjee said: "How can they point fingers at others now?"
     
    Attacking Modi, also the Gujarat chief minister, she said some parties were inciting violence between communities.
     
    Banerjee said after the recent riots in Assam, several thousand people have crossed over to Bengal and taken shelter.
     
    "We have given them shelter. UP, Bihari, Rajasthani, Marwari - everyone living in this state is a Bengali. How many Bengali MLAs does Gujarat have? We have MLAs and MPs from different regions," she asserted.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    ED chargesheets Raja, Kanimozhi, 17 others

    ED chargesheets Raja, Kanimozhi, 17 others
    A chargesheet was filed in a court here Friday against 19 accused, including former telecom minister A. Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi over money laundering in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

    ED chargesheets Raja, Kanimozhi, 17 others

    Maharashtra's deleted voters names: parties want repoll, CBI probe

    Maharashtra's deleted voters names: parties want repoll, CBI probe
    The issue of deletion or diversion of six million voters' names in Maharashtra blew into a full-fledged controversy with demands ranging from repoll in all the state's 48 Lok Sabha constituencies to a CBI probe, following an apology tendered by Election Commissioner H.S.Brahma, who admitted to the lapse.

    Maharashtra's deleted voters names: parties want repoll, CBI probe

    Insensitive Congress cheated nation, punish them: Modi

    Insensitive Congress cheated nation, punish them: Modi
    Calling the Congress and the UPA government "insensitive" and "bent on destroying the country", BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi Friday said that they had "cheated" the country in their 10 years of rule and called upon the people to punish them. He claimed that the election would prove to be a complete rout for them.

    Insensitive Congress cheated nation, punish them: Modi

    Rajiv killing conspirators not to be free for now, kin dismayed

    Rajiv killing conspirators not to be free for now, kin dismayed
    The Supreme Court Friday said that the seven conspirators in the 1991 Rajiv Gandhi assassination will not be released for now, a ruling that left the mother of one of the convicts disappointed.

    Rajiv killing conspirators not to be free for now, kin dismayed

    US court asks Sikh group to summon Manmohan Singh by June 18

    US court asks Sikh group to summon Manmohan Singh by June 18
    A US court has asked a Sikh group to serve summons on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by June 18 or face dismissal of a case of alleged violation of human rights during his tenure.

    US court asks Sikh group to summon Manmohan Singh by June 18

    Amarnath Yatra to begin June 28

    Amarnath Yatra to begin June 28
    The annual yatra to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district will start on June 28, it was announced Thursday.

    Amarnath Yatra to begin June 28