PM Modi indicates Derek's 'lack of democracy' comments may have a 'Bengal cause'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took a dig at Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O'Brien for using words like 'freedom of speech' and 'intimidation' in the Rajya Sabha, and said that he could be saying these things because he was seeing them 24 hours in West Bengal.

"I was listening to Derek ji, he had chosen good words - freedom of speech, intimidation and hounding. When I was listening to him, I was wondering if he is talking about Bengal or the country. He sees all these things for 24 hours, so he might have said the same here too by mistake," the Prime Minister said in his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address, evoking laughs from MPs in the House.

This comes ahead of the highly anticipated Assembly elections set to take place in West Bengal later this year, where the BJP and the ruling TMC are in a fierce face-off.

Earlier on Thursday, O'Brien had hit out at the Modi government and said, "In these times, we are cherishing small freedoms like the freedom of speech and the freedom to express ourselves. If elected MPs are feeling this intimidation and the hounding, what are journalists and farmers feeling? This is not about MPs or farmers, but about the Indian citizen."

PM Modi also took a dig at Congress' Pratap Singh Bajwa and joked that the Congress MP had disappointed the country, just like the Congress.

"Bajwa sahab from Congress was also speaking. He was speaking in such detail that I thought he will reach Emergency (period) shortly and speak on it, he is just one step away. But he didn't go there. Congress disappoints this country a lot, you did that too," PM Modi said.

( With inputs from ANI )