“Don’t insult me after calling me here,” Mamata Banerjee said.
Calcutta:
Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee erupted in anger at the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata on Saturday night, at an event honoring legendary freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on his 124th birthday, after he interrupted her with songs of “Jai Shri Ram“.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on the scene for the incident, one of the few times in the recent past that she shared a platform with him. The Governor of Bengal, Jagdeep Dhankhar, was also present.
“Don’t insult me after calling me here. This is not a political program. If you invite someone to a government program, you must not insult him,” Banerjee said, interrupting his speech.
The footage showed the crowd screaming moments before Ms. Banerjee spoke, forcing organizers to repeatedly call for calm. When she was finally able to speak, Ms Banerjee, visibly upset, urged the crowd to show some dignity and thanked the prime minister for attending the event.
A seemingly unflappable Prime Minister Modi spoke shortly thereafter and began referring to the chief minister as “behen (sister) Mamata. “As he spoke, chants of”Bharat Mata Ki Jai“were heard, but those of”Jai Shri Ram“It seemed conspicuous by its absence.
PM Modi, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
With the Assembly elections now only a few months away, the scenes at the famous Victoria Memorial quickly invited replicas and counter-replicas from members of the two parties.
BJP’s TI cell chief Amit Malviya was one of the first to leave the block, claiming that Ms Banerjee had “insulted” Netaji’s memory and that “Bengal will not tolerate this disregard for its icons.”
“Mamata Banerjee insulted Rabindranath Tagore’s legacy by refusing to attend the Viswa Bharati centennial celebrations. She has done the same by not delivering her speech on the occasion of Netaji’s anniversary celebrations,” he stated.
Mamata Banerjee insulted Rabindranath Tagore’s legacy by refusing to attend the Viswa Bharati centennial celebrations. She has done the same by not delivering her speech on the occasion of Netaji’s anniversary celebrations.
Bengal will not tolerate this neglect of its icons.
– Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 23, 2021
Trinamool MP Derek O’Brien responded by tweeting the dictionary definition of the word ‘dignity’ and saying “lumpens cannot (not) be taught to be worthy.”
“dignity (noun) The state or quality of being worthy of honor and respect. You can’t teach ‘dignity’. You can’t teach lumpen to be worthy either. Here’s a one-minute video of what exactly happened today Including Mamata Banerjee’s worthy answer, “O’Brien said.
dignity (noun) The status or quality of being worthy of honor and respect.
You cannot teach “dignity”. You also can’t teach lumpens to be worthy.
Here is a one minute video of what exactly happened today. Including the answer worthy of @MamataOfficialpic.twitter.com/aEQ3jF7CYf
– Derek O’Brien | ডেরেক ও’ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) January 23, 2021
The chants that greeted Ms Banerjee tonight were a sobering reminder of the vicious electoral rhetoric that has dominated Bengal politics since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when the “Jai Shri Ram“Song commonly used by BJP supporters to mock Trinamool leaders, including Ms. Banerjee.
At that boo, he lost his temper twice in the space of a few days, and the second time he charged at people, calling them “criminals,” “outsiders,” and worse.
In June, Ms Banerjee said that although she respected the slogans invoking Lord Ram, she had a problem with the BJP using them in a “wrong way by mixing religion with politics.”
Although today it was billed as a celebration of Netaji and his legacy, it quickly turned into a bitter dispute over who best honors the legendary figure.
Hours before the prime minister landed in Kolkata, Ms Banerjee attacked the center for failing to declare a national holiday and not building a monument to Netaji. He also criticized the center for calling today ‘Parakram Diwas‘, instead of ‘Deshnayak Diwas‘as requested by your government.
Trinamool remains confident of winning re-election, but many believe the party faces an uphill struggle after a wave of leaders threw themselves at the BJP, starting with Suvendu Adhikari.
The ruling party, however, has played down these setbacks, comparing the Trinamool to an ocean and saying that “a couple of jugs of water taken from it make no difference.”
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