West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on October 8 launched one of her sharpest political offensives in recent months, accusing Union home minister Amit Shah of “behaving like the acting prime minister” and warning Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to repose excessive faith in his most powerful lieutenant.

The remark, invoking one of Bengal’s most charged historical metaphors, came hours after Mamata had returned to Kolkata from her survey of the flood-ravaged districts of north Bengal.

Speaking to the media outside Kolkata airport, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo alleged that Shah was not only overstepping his constitutional boundaries but also manipulating institutions like the Election Commission (EC) for partisan gain. “All this is a game played by Amit Shah. He is behaving

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