In an attempt to justify her outburst against people chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’, West Bengal CM, Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said that the BJP was trying to mix religion with politics by using the slogan.
In a detailed post on Facebook, she wrote:
We wish to inform the people that some BJP supporters are trying to spread hatred ideology through one section of media - so so-called BJP media and so so-called fake video, fake news, misinformation and disinformation to create confusion and to suppress truth and reality.
So far as media is considered, we have no problem as it is their choice and prerogative.
From Ram Mohan Roy to Vidyasagar to other great social reformers, Bengal has been a seat of harmony, progress and forward thinking. But now, the misconceived strategy of BJP is targeting Bengal in a very negative manner.
I have no problem, regarding any particular slogan of political parties in their rallies, and for their party purpose. Every political party has its own slogan. My party has Jai Hind, Vande Mataram. The Left has Inquilab Zindabad. Others have different slogans. We respect each other.
Jai Sia Ram, Jai Ram Ji ki, Ram Naam Satya hai etc have religious and social connotations. We respect these sentiments.
But BJP is using a religious slogan like Jai Sia Ram as their party slogan in a misconceived manner by way of mixing religion with politics.
We do not respect this forcible enforcement of political slogans on others in the name of so-called RSS which Bengal never accepted.
This is a deliberate attempt to sell hatred ideology through vandalism and violence which we must oppose together.
One can fool some people sometimes, but cannot fool all the people all the time.
This is high time that proper action is taken to restrain political workers not to indulge in activities of creating unrest, chaos, violence and disruption of normal life by taking recourse to misplaced ideologies in the so-called name of religion to create a divide among the people. If all other political parties start resorting to these sort of divisive and disruptive activities, then the entire environment would become highly vitiated and counterproductive.
We have to and would oppose such moves of BJP very strongly in order to keep the secular character of the country as enshrined in our constitution.
I appeal to all the people of the country and the state to give a befitting reply to hatred politics and show respect to our country’s glorious culture and heritage.
Let us all be proud of our culture and heritage.
Jai Hind, Jai Bangla, Joyo He
Banerjee on Thursday had lost her cool and slammed a group of youth shouting 'Jai Shri Ram' in front of her convoy on way to Naihati in North 24 Parganas district. An angry chief minister rushed out of her vehicle twice to confront the youth and issued them a verbal warning.