Kolkata, Jan 22: At a rally in Bengal's South 24-Parganas district Monday, Banerjee slammed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the hike in fertilizer prices and alleged that despite her repeated appeals, the central government had not increased subsidy on it.
"I have met the prime minister ten times and repeatedly urged him to hike fertilizer subsidy. What more can I do? Should I beat him? If I do so, you people would call me a goon," Banerjee said.
Earlier, stepping up pressure on the UPA government on her demand for a three-year moratorium on paying interests on central loans, she threatened to lead a march to the Red Fort in New Delhi if her pleas went unheeded.
The Congress took strong exception to Banerjee's attack on Singh and demanded an immediate apology from her.
"She (Banerjee) will not be able to run the state for long. She has already started to allege that the centre is not allotting funds. One day you can see that she will flee Bengal after getting rid of the government," Congress leader and Minister of State for Railways Adhir Chowdhury said.
Congress leader and Minister of State for Urban Development Deepa Dasmunshi also demanded an immediate apology from Banerjee.
Dasmunshi lashed out at the chief minister on her threat to march to the Red Fort and said: "The Red Fort is a tourist spot. It is not where you can demonstrate," she added.
