Ranchi: Political heat has risen in Jharkhand over Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's comments on the state being responsible for flooding in West Bengal. Leaders of both the ruling and the opposition parties have slammed Banerjee for her comment.
In a social media post, Banerjee had written on Sunday that she has spoken to Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and discussed the flood situation. "I discussed with him the case of sudden and huge release of water from Tenughat, which has already started flooding Bengal. I told him that Jharkhand waters have been flooding Bengal, and this is man-made! I requested him to please take care of this," she tweeted.
Just now, I spoke to the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren ji, and discussed with him the evolving flood situation.
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) August 4, 2024
I discussed with him the case of sudden and huge release of water from Tenughat, which has already started flooding Bengal.
I told him that Jharkhand…
Her tweet has drawn criticism from leaders of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Congress and BJP in Jharkhand.
Mamata Banerjee's allegation is incorrect: JMM
JMM argued that Banerjee's statement is incorrect because the nature of water is to flow downwards and when the floodgates of Rihand Dam are opened, it first causes floods in Jharkhand so the state should not be blamed. When water is released from Nepal, a large area of Bihar gets submerged and so it is natural for water to flow downwards when there is heavy rainfall in the upper area.
JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey said that effort should be taken to ensure that people face minimum trouble. "When we can sympathise with the flood-affected people in Assam, then why would we think of causing floods in our neighboring state of West Bengal," Pandey said.
We are looking at Jharkhand's interest, Mamata too should do the same: Congress
Terming Banerjee's allegations as baseless, Jharkhand Congress spokesperson Jagdish Sahu said that a large area of Bihar gets submerged due to the release of water from Nepal but who blames whom at that time. "Decisions are taken keeping in mind the interest of the people of Jharkhand, Mamata Banerjee should look after the interest of the people of her state and not make baseless allegations," Sahu said.
Mamata herself responsible for Bengal's destruction: BJP
Jharkhand BJP vice president Rakesh Sinha said it is wrong to hold Jharkhand responsible for the floods in West Bengal and said that Banerjee herself is to be blamed for the destruction. He further alleged that Banerjee is blaming Jharkhand to hide her own mistakes and failures.
Assam CM reacted to Mamata's post
Assam CM and BJP's Jharkhand Assembly co-incharge Himanta Biswa Sarma responded to Banerjee's post on social media saying Assam gets flooded due to the water released from Himachal Pradesh and Bhutan but the state never blames anyone because the nature of water is to flow from higher to lower areas.
मैं दीदी का सम्मान करता हूँ, लेकिन मैं उनकी इस धारणा को स्वीकार नहीं कर सकता कि झारखंड सरकार पश्चिम बंगाल में आई बाढ़ के लिए जिम्मेदार है। दोनों सरकारों को लोगों की कठिनाइयों को कम करने के लिए मिलकर काम करना चाहिए। हर साल, अरुणाचल और भूटान पहाड़ियों से आने वाला पानी असम में बाढ़… https://t.co/qlPw2CMaBv
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 4, 2024
While blaming Jharkhand yesterday, Banerjee had further written, "I have meanwhile been monitoring the situation and have spoken to all the DMs concerned in South Bengal as well as in North Bengal. I have asked the DMs to be particularly vigilant and take proper care of the calamity situation in the next 3/4 days. I told them to take all precautionary measures so that there is no untoward incident anywhere."
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