25

Jan

Hindu-Muslim Bhai Bhai Slogans At Harmony Rally in Kolkata

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Today’s Edition

New Delhi, 25 January 2024

Syed Khalique Ahmad

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The ‘Sanhati rally’ (rally for communal harmony) taken out by West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on the day of consecration of Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22 has been perceived as a salutary action to challenge the BJP’s hate campaign in the run-up to this year’s Lok Sabha elections. More importantly, it has turned out to be a lesson for the Congress as an Opposition party.

Banerjee accused the BJP of indulging in politics over religion and described the party as anti-women for omitting Sita from its discourse on Ram. “They talk about Ram, but what about Sita? She was all along with Ram during his exile. They don’t speak about her as they are anti-women. We are worshippers of Goddess Durga, so they should not try to lecture us about religion,” Banerjee said.

After offering prayers at the Kalighat temple, a gurdwara, a mosque and a church during her five-km rally from Hazra to Park Circus in Kolkata, Banerjee touched upon almost every political issue, from the Centre’s alleged denial of payment of wages under the MGNREGA scheme, to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), while laying emphasis on communal harmony and religious amity.

“The people of Bengal have a great responsibility to save the country, to save religious harmony and save people of all religions,” Banerjee said at the culmination of the procession. With slogans of ‘Hindu- Muslim Bhai Bhai’ (Hindus and Muslims are brothers), she exhorted the people to fight against the BJP in the upcoming general elections.

Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also called upon the people not to vote in the name of religion but to vote in the interest of the state. Religious leaders of different faiths also addressed the gathering before the Chief Minister sounded the bugle for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

“I do not have any objections if someone worships Ram or prays to Allah. My objection is that unemployment is the highest in the country. There are attempts to interfere with the food habits of people,” Banerjee said.

Banerjee not only targeted the BJP, while accusing the party of splitting Hindu votes, but she also accused some leaders from the Muslim community of acting as brokers and trying to split Muslim votes. She came down heavily on the Left parties and said they had done nothing for Muslims in West Bengal.

In her critical comments on the BJP’s divisive campaign for Ram temple, Banerjee said the ‘Pran Prathistha’ (consecration) of Ram was not the job of politicians. “It is the job of seers and sadhus. What will we do by going to Ayodhya? As politicians, our job is to make infrastructure, I will do that,” she said.

The political analysts have described Banerjee’s decision to organise the rally as a masterstroke when the BJP is vitiating the atmosphere all over the country.

The capital city of Kolkata also witnessed several rallies celebrating the temple inauguration, including one by the Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari. There was a scuffle at Jadavpur University between the students belonging to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, who held a rally celebrating the temple inauguration, and those from the Students Federation of India (SFI), who brought out a rally for communal harmony.

The SFI supporters also got into an altercation with the police personnel and organised a rally outside the university premises raising the pitch that they will not allow communal politics.

The Trinamool Congress plans to organise rallies in every block of West Bengal with the theme of ‘Sarva Dharma Samanwaya’ (Harmony of all religions).

The Trinamool Congress chairperson’s decision to skip the Ram Mandir event and organise a parallel rally in Kolkata came at a time when leaders of Congress as well as many parties in the INDIA Opposition alliance had decided to give the January 22 event a miss.

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