Lucknow, June 11 -- Amid the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) facing internal turmoil, Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday sharply criticised the party's chief Mamata Banerjee, terming her tenure as Chief Minister as "extremely cruel" and marked by discrimination and poverty.

Addressing a press conference, Goyal said, "The situation in West Bengal is a symbol of Mamata Banerjee's extremely cruel rule. The atmosphere of terror that prevailed, the discrimination she practised against the people of the state, and the way she kept them mired in poverty... Amidst this climate of fear, West Bengal witnessed neither development nor public welfare for fifteen years; yet, following her disastrous governance, people are now openly expressin...