In a perfect encore of what she did at Midnapore on May 6, Mamata Banerjee once again got off her vehicle on Thursday chasing and threatening with dire consequences a crowd of “Jai Shri Ram” chanters who stood by the road to Naihati where she was going to join a Trinamool Congress sit-in demonstration staged against attacks on the Trinamool supporters post-polls.
Naihati is in Barrackpore parliamentary constituency where senior TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi was trounced by BJP nominee and local strongman Arjun Sing, a turncoat from Banerjee’s party.
Aware of her reported aversion against the catchphrase which is normally used by the BJP supports, locals lining the road in hundreds greeted Banerjee’s convoy with “Jai Shri Ram” slogan twice at Bhatpara and Jagaddal.
Even as the Chief Minister jumped off her vehicles with the State DGP Virendra and top IPS officers in pursuit, Banerjee shouted “they are calling me names which cannot be accepted in a democracy.”
A bid that experts promptly identified as a “vicious ploy” to turn religious polarisation — that apparently earned BJP huge mileage in Bengal earning it 18 out of 42 seats — into a linguistic divide Banerjee marked the locals mostly workers of the tens of factories situated on both sides of the road as “outsiders” who “live in Bengal eat our food, run a zamindari and challenge the integrity and purity of Bengali culture.”
Subsequently referring to the incident at Naihati she said, “these are the people, the criminals who have been imported from outside Bengal by two ‘gaddars’ (traitors) — Mukul Roy and Arjun Singh — of the BJP to vitiate the State’s culture and insult the local Bengalis.”
Referring to the incidents of attacks on the TMC families, particularly women who had been forced to leave their homes and were currently staying at relief camps Banerjee tended to issue a veiled warning saying: “we want no tension between the Bengalis and non-Bengalis. I also don’t say that all non-Bengali people are bad. But I feel that some people are creating trouble for political reasons. They should remember that there could be problem for them if other people (read Bengalis) take up the issue which I don’t want to happen in this State where we have been living peacefully for ages.”
Incidentally, Banerjee drew flak early this month when in a similar circumstance she got off her car and challenged bystanders at Midnapore chanting Jai Shri Ram. The video reportedly earned a mileage for the BJP with two stages of polls still to go.
TMC views “Jai Shri Ram” slogan as an import of the Hindi heartland not only glorifying their culture but also earning organisational points for the BJP. It prefers slogans glorifying Durga and Kali that it feels truly represent Bengali culture.
However, sitting in the wings the opposition parties like the Congress and the Left say Chief Minister is getting the taste of her own medicine. Like she played minority card to wean away the Opposition votes 2007 onwards the BJP is playing the Hindu card to win elections.
Cut to Naihati: Hours before Narendra Modi was to take his oath, Banerjee attacked the Prime Minister, the Election Commission for winning the elections “by creating an emergency-like situation in the State.”
The BJP had spent crores to win the election she said telling people how “winning one election by fraud they are attacking the opposition parties like this. Imagine what they will do later on,” adding “I warn them to desist from attacking and molesting the Bengali and minority women.”
Announcing formation of Jai Hind Vahini and Banga Janani Samiti Banerjee said “I am for Jai Hind and not any other slogan and so I announce the formation of Jai Hind Vahini which will be dressed in white kurta and pyjama and carry lathis. I also announce formation of Banga Janani Samiti that will work for protection of women. Wherever the attackers come the women wings will chase them away.”
