Nafisa strikes ‘Bengali’ note to take on Didi

But Nafisa, 47, who left Kolkata at the age of 24 will have to say just that, if she wants votes from Calcutta South constituency which returned Mamata with huge margins for the fourth time in the last Lok Sabha polls.

And in her speech, Nafisa hit out more at Mamata than on the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Front. ‘‘The integrity of Mamata was washed a great deal when she joined hands with BJP. She left the NDA coalition on the issue of corruption but she rejoined it and this brought down her credibility a lot. It was Mamata who brought the BJP to West Bengal,’’ Nafisa said.

‘‘One thing I can assure you, if I do not perform I will rather resign than stick to my post,’’ the socialite and former Miss India said.

Nafisa also said it was the Gujarat riots which prompted her to join politics.

‘‘What happened in Gujarat was a huge shame. And I will not rest until a judicial inquiry is conducted against the Narendra Modi government. And as far as the government’s performance is concerned, the BJP’s record is abysmal. And it conned the people by telling lies in the India Shining campaign,’’ she said.

Nafisa also said that only the Congress can bring progress to the state, which had falled behind under LF rule. ‘‘Under the Left Front, the state is lagging behind in all spheres. I wonder why Hyderabad should be the IT centre instead of Kolkata. The situation has to be changed,’’ Nafisa said.