Exit polls have no value, manufactured at home two months back: Mamata Banerjee
Kolkata, Jun 1: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said the exit poll predictions were not consistent with the ground reality as they were "manufactured at home" two months back.
She claimed that such exit polls have no value, and criticised the press for showing them.
"We had seen how the exit polls were conducted in 2016, 2019 and 2021. None of the predictions had turned out to be true," she told TV9-Bangla.
"These exit polls were manufactured at home by some people two months back for the media consumption. They have no value," she added.
Banerjee said the response of the people at her rallies didn't corroborate the exit polls predictions.
"The way BJP tried polarisation and spread false information that Muslims were taking away quotas of SC, ST and OBCs, I don't think Muslims will vote for BJP. And, I think the CPI(M) and Congress helped the BJP in West Bengal," she said.
Most of the exit polls have predicted that the BJP will get more seats than the TMC in the state.
On the prospects of the INDIA bloc, she said, "Akhilesh (Yadav), Tejashwi (Yadav), Stalin (M K Stalin) and Uddhav (Thackeray) will do well. Regional parties will do well everywhere."
She was also asked if her ties with the CPI(M) and Congress in West Bengal would affect her chances of joining the government at the Centre if the INDIA bloc was voted to power.
Banerjee said, "I don't think there will be any hurdle at the all-India level unless the CPI(M) interferes."
"See every regional party has its own respect, and after talking to everyone, if we are invited we will go. We will take other regional parties along. But let the poll results be out first," she said.
Meanwhile, state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar claimed his party will win at least 25 seats in West Bengal, but he would not be satisfied with less than 30 seats.
"When I took over as the state president two and a half years back, I had said we would cross the 25-mark in the Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal, but even many in my party did not believe me. Now, not only my party, but the press and the people of the state believe that we will get more than 25 seats," he said.
CPIM central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said exit poll predictions could not be relied upon.
"Swelling public resentment against the TMC will prevent it from doing well in the Lok Sabha polls wherever free and fair elections could be held," he claimed.
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Hospital wall collapse: CM orders suspension of executive engineer; kin of victims get solatium
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday ordered the immediate suspension of an executive engineer for the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital wall collapse that claimed the lives of seven people, during a high-level review meeting at Vidhana Soudha.
A compensation of Rs 5 lakh, as announced by the CM Siddaramaiah, was distributed to the families of seven victims who lost their lives in the tragedy on Wednesday evening, which occurred due to heavy downpour with gusty winds and hailstorm.
The meeting of municipal commissioners of the five corporations, chaired by the chief minister and attended by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, focused on fixing accountability and examining lapses that led to the tragedy.
"Why was soil dumped in a way that damaged the wall? Why did you not monitor this?" Siddaramaiah asked, pulling up hospital authorities during the meeting.
A statement from the chief minister's office said that the CM ordered the immediate suspension of the executive engineer of the Karnataka Health Systems Development Project (KHSDP).
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He also questioned the hospital authorities, asking why they failed to monitor the dumping of soil that weakened the structure.
The chief minister directed that a notice be issued to the head of the Hospital.
During the meeting, Siddaramaiah said the rains had caused extensive damage in the city, with over 250 trees uprooted.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to take necessary measures before the onset of the monsoon to avoid untoward incidents.
Commissioners of all five municipal zones in Bengaluru have been asked to take precautionary steps, including trimming dry and dangerous tree branches, the CMO said.
Siddaramaiah also directed them to get the silt cleared from stormwater drains to prevent flooding, and that immediate action be taken to remove debris and fallen branches from roads.
Further, he instructed that barricades be placed at underpasses where water stagnates and restricts public movement.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao said in a statement that Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad distributed compensation cheques of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased on Thursday.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed amid heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
Police said the victims, comprising three from Bengaluru, two from Kerala on a study tour and one each from Uttar Pradesh and Assam, had taken shelter near the wall when it suddenly gave way, trapping them under the debris.
The chief minister questioned officials over the dumping of soil near the wall despite knowing it could weaken the structure, and directed that a notice be issued to the head of Bowring Hospital.
Siddaramaiah, who had visited the spot soon after the incident along with senior officials, reviewed the situation and ordered a detailed probe into the collapse.
