West Bengal Prime Minister Mamata Banerjee is running a “tees% logon ki sarkar (a government that serves only 30% of the state’s population),” alleged Kailash Vijayvargiya, National Secretary General of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). on Wednesday, after Calcutta Police stopped a religious program of his party. The BJP leader added that the CM “does not forget the rituals of Friday and Muharram.”
VIjaywargiya did not specify which section he was referring to as 30 percent. “The rights of 70% of the population have been taken away. Yeh tees% logon ki sarkar hai (this is a government of 30% people). Can’t we even celebrate tarpan (a Hindu ritual) in Bengal during Mamata Banerjee’s rule? “said the BJP leader this afternoon after Calcutta police stopped a religious program of his party.
“Mamata Ji does not forget the rituals of Friday and Muharram. But she is always against the Hindus. Is it a crime to observe Hindu rituals in West Bengal? “added Vijayvargiya.
The BJP state unit had organized traditional Hindu rituals on the banks of the Hooghly River to pay tribute to the souls of 32 party workers who, according to leaders, had been killed in political clashes in the past 12 months. A pandal was installed on the banks of the river in Baghbazar. BJP Chairman JP Nadda was supposed to attend virtually from Delhi. The children and widows of the dead BJP workers were brought to the city for the Vedic ritual called tarpan.
Hours earlier, the Kolkata police removed the pandal, saying that social distancing rules were being violated and the program could not be allowed in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. This led to chaos. Vijayvargiya and other senior leaders had a discussion with the police and left the scene. Around noon, the BJP workers performed the rituals elsewhere on the riverbank, but the leaders stayed away.
“The police used the pandemic as an excuse to stop us. This is the first time we have seen that people need permission from the police to hold tarpan. This government will surely be overthrown in the 2021 elections, ”said BJP National Executive Member Mukul Roy, who was present at the scene.
“Our movement will not stop until this government sinks into the river,” added BJP National Secretary Rahul Sinha.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) defended the police action.
“The BJP was politically using a religious program. They told me the police wouldn’t allow it because they violated social distancing rules. This could not be allowed, ”said Saugata Roy, member and spokesperson for TMC Lok Sabha.
On Monday, the prime minister’s decision to award a monthly stipend and houses to Brahmin priests sparked a debate, with Congress, the left and the BJP calling it a desperate move to secure Hindu votes ahead of crucial elections in the assembly next year.
Banerjee announced that his government will provide a monthly stipend of 1,000 rupees to some 8,000 Brahmin priests facing a financial crisis and will also provide housing for those in need.
.
