Mamata Banerjee, pointing at the BJP, said, “Point a gun and I’ll show you the armory.”
Calcutta:
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, still resentful of the slogans “Jai Shri Ram” on Netaji’s birth anniversary program, launched a furious attack on the BJP today, accusing it of insulting all cultural icons in the state, from Rabindranath Tagore to the revolutionary Santhal. Birsa Munda leader. Before the next elections, the Center and the state had clashed even before the event took place. The Center had declared the day “Parakram Diwas”, denying state requests to name it “Desh Nayak Diwas”.
“I went to his program and some fanatical and aggressive traitors dared to mock me in front of the prime minister. They don’t know me. If you point a gun at me, I’ll show you the armory. But I don’t believe in politics because of the gun,” he said today the Chief Minister on a show.
“You have insulted Netaji. You have misnamed Tagore’s birthplace. You have destroyed the Vidyasagar statue. You have garlanded a wrong statue thinking it was Birsa Munda,” he added, referring to the great debate between the outsiders and the inmates being fought in the state.
The prime minister was caught by surprise on a program on Saturday attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Held outside the majestic Victoria Memorial, the program to commemorate the birthday of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was marred by “Jai Shri Ram” chants as the Chief Minister rose to speak.
Ms. Banerjee, known to be annoyed by the catchphrase, refused to continue her speech, saying: “This is not a political program. Government programs should have some dignity. It is not fair to insult someone you have invited”.
Amid a flurry of ridicule from the BJP over its reaction, the chief minister said today that the BJP should be renamed the “Bharat Jalao Party” and advised rebels in her party to leave as soon as possible.
Without naming Suvendu Adhikari and others who left Trinamool to join the BJP, he said they had “money to hide.” The Trinamool boss said she “will not give them tickets in the next elections.”
Trinamool has pointed out that the Prime Minister, who was an eyewitness to the event, did not refer to him in his speech. “His silence condones the behavior of BJP supporters,” Bengal’s urban affairs minister Firhad Hakim said.
Over the past two days, dozens of BJP leaders have insulted Ms. Banerjee for her reaction to the slogans “Jai Shri Ram”. But she has also garnered support for Ms. Banerjee from traditional rivals in Congress and the left front.
“The prime minister has damaged his own position by allowing this. No one has the right to insult Mamata Banerjee … our prime minister … like this. It was an attack by the Hindu communalists on the culture of Bengal. A political and community assault to Bengal, “said Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress.
“He did the right thing by refusing to give his speech. Why couldn’t he speak? Because the BJP carried out a party program with government money. This is wrong. An evil is an evil. Bengal has been harmed,” he said Md Salim from CPM. .
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