Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that her government will not tolerate hurting or insulting any religion and gave a stern warning to the main opposition BJP blaming them for stoking the communal fire in Bengal. She accused the saffron party of importing “fake Hinduism” to the state.
“Your imported Hindu dharma is not supported by the Vedas or by our seers. How can you deny the rights of Muslims as citizens? This is nothing but a fraud. You are importing fake Hinduism,” she remarked.
Banerjee said in the state Assembly retorting to Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari’s statement before the media that Muslim MLAs of the TMC would be thrown out of the West Bengal Assembly if the BJP comes to power.
She asserted that sovereignty, secularism and pluralism are the main pillars of Indian democracy and everyone in the country has the right to practise his or her own religion.
“The duty of the majority is to protect the minority. We must protect our country’s sovereignty and secularism. I love all religions and we condemn any political party’s attempts to spread hatred against any community. As a Chief Minister, my responsibility is to care for all. Humanity is the biggest religion. Every religion talks about humanity, “ she maintained. Further accusing the saffron party of using communal rhetoric to divert attention from economic and trade issues, she said: “Democracy is permanent, but the chair is not. Respect the chair. How can you think of throwing out Muslim MLAs? They (BJP) are targeting the Muslims because this is the Roza month and they don’t like this. They are trying to distract the attention of the country from economic and trade collapse by making communal statements. I’m a Hindu and I don’t need certification from the BJP.” Banerjee took a jibe at the BJP legislators for wearing black in the state Assembly. “It is your choice to wear black today. You live in the dark. You divide the country, but we will not allow this,” she added.
She accused the BJP of attempting to create disruptions in the Assembly. “The BJP had planned to create a ruckus in the House,” Banerjee claimed. With the BJP MLAs continuing to make din and tear papers, Banerjee said: “If anyone has something to say, I will listen to them. But they don’t want to listen to me. They are shouting slogans. This is not democracy. I respect democracy. I urge the Opposition members to allow me to speak.” BJP MLA Sankar Ghosh intervened during Banerjee’s speech. “You are talking about the leader of the Opposition who is not present inside the House. Your minister Firhad Hakim spoke about killing Hindus,” Ghosh said.
Claiming that Ghosh is not speaking the truth, the Chief Minister retorted: “Our party is very strict on these matters. I have myself warned Bobby (minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim) not to make such statements. How can your leader say, Muslim legislators will be thrown out of the Assembly? How can he deny the 33 per cent of population in the state? You can’t run Manipur and you dream of running Bengal.” Banerjee further maintained that her party (Trinamool Congress) has advised some of its members, including Firhad Hakim, Humayun Kabir and Madan Mitra, not to make remarks that may be deemed inappropriate.
During Mamata’s speech, the BJP legislators kept sloganeering and later staged a walkout. Banerjee, later in the day, emphasised the significance of celebrating all festivals together, promoting a message of communal harmony while attending the ‘Dolyatra & Holi Milan Utsav’ organised by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) at Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium.