Flaunting portrait of Rabindranath Tagore, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee drew a mammoth crowd during her first road show this election season in Bolpur. Amid roar of ‘Joy Bangla’ (Hail Bengal), West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said the BJP’s dream of building ‘Sonar Bangla’ will fail miserably as Bengal has already been wrapped in gold by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
“Those outsiders (BJP) don’t know Tagore and Vivekananda but are utilising their names for vote bank politics. They don’t even know where Tagore was born and is giving wrong information, but BJP is trying to get votes in his name. Sonar Bangla is the national Anthem of Bangladesh. They are using Visva Bharati university by appointing their party worker as Vice-Chancellor to malign the sovereignty of Shantiniketan and Tagore,” claimed Banerjee amid singing of songs of Tagore.
Claiming the BJP doesn’t even know the ‘basics of Hinduism’, the TMC supremo cried foul at the saffron camp by alleging the BJP is playing ‘hatred politics’ not just in Bengal but across the country. “BJP along with hatred and violent politics is trying to malign Nobel laureates like Amartya Sen and Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee. They are even maligning Visva Bharati University, founded by Tagore. Instead of addressing the problems of the protesting farmers they are trying to create untoward incidents in Bengal,” said the CM, slamming the BJP leaders for even trying to change the National Anthem penned by Tagore.
Taking further jibe at the saffron camp, the TMC supremo alleged they are trying to purchase people in return of money and also by horse trading of few TMC MLAs, BJP cannot form the government in West Bengal.
Incidentally, Basudeb Das Baul (folksinger), who played the host and served lunch to Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his rally on December 20 was seen singing folk song in the same dais. As told to FPJ by TMC Birbhum president Anubrata Mandal, the roadshow was more of a show of Bengali culture as from folk artists to Dhakis, from Kirtaniyas to tribals dancers took part. “More than three lakh people from across Birbhum participated in the rally. The outsiders don’t know the actual culture of Bengal but TMC does and the TMC pledges over maintaining the rich culture of the state,” mentioned Mandal.
However BJP leader Anupam Hazra claimed Mandal forcibly brought people to show the ‘fake’ might of TMC.
Source: Free Press Journal
