Mamata flays critics of SRK felicitation

Kolkata, May 31 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday flayed opposition Left Front for indulging in "unnecessary criticism" to score political brownie points over the felicitation programme organised by her government for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

"They are so mean that they are criticizing the felicitation ceremony of KKR. They (KKR) have made the entire country proud. We have done nothing, everything has been done by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). In other states the players get crores of rupees, cars for winning a tournament. We don't need to learn from CPI-M about how to treat our guests." said Banerjee.

The state government's gala felicitation at Eden Gardens had drawn severe criticism from a section of the society who had questioned the debt-burdened government's enormous expenditure for felicitating a private company.

The KKR team alongside their co-owner Shah Rukh Khan, who is also Bengal's brand ambassador, was felicitated by Banerjee for winning the IPL tournament.

With a frenzied crowd of thousands cheering on, KKR players took part in a victory parade from south Kolkata's Hazra Crossing on a flower-bedecked open top trailer.

Around 70,000 people gathered at the Eden Gardens where the team was given a civic reception whereas 20,000-30,000 stood outside to have a glimpse of Shah Rukh and Gautam Gambhir.