Bengal on Wednesday woke up to a new variety of Ramnavami celebrated more on the thoroughfares than in pandals.
In a presentable sight for the BJP aspiring to pull down Trinamool Congress’ green citadel in 2019 general elections combined processions of RSS and Hindu Jagaran Manch on Wednesday drew impressive crowds throughout Bengal —particularly in its northern parts, Birbhum, Howrah and Kolkata — provoking a squirmy Mamata Banerjee to denounce “politics in the name of lord Rama.”
To guarantee its own political relevance against a saffron surge the Bengal ruling outfit launched counter celebrations even as State Minister and former India cricketer laxmi Ratan Shukla led large processions hijacking loud chants of “Jai Shri Ram” for once from the BJP. In Birbhum the Trinamool countered RSS Ramnavami with ward-based Hanuman Puja that became an instant hit too.
Armed with swords, tridents and sticks saffron brigades marched down the streets of Kolkata which saw as many as 22 such processions and Siliguri — considered the gateway of the North East — which saw perhaps the biggest such rally in the region.
Birbhum seemed to present the most encouraging picture with hundreds of youth taking part in the saffron yatra prompting a State CPI(M) leader to rue: “we were destined to see this day thanks to Mamata Banerjee’s needless appeasement of a particular section of people.”
Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh lauded the “commendable effort” saying “it will help the people to unite against the anti-national forces and vote bank politics.”
Apparently concerned with Wednesday’s developments the Chief Minister lay into “BJP’s nefarious designs to break popular solidarity in the name of religion” and warned against any ploy to disturb communal harmony in the State.
“Do they think Hinduism is their paternal propertyIJ I am a born Hindu and practice it with supreme faith. Do I have to learn a new how to practice my religionIJ These people are trying to create fissure in the society in order to win elections but we will not allow them to do so” she said.
“Any such effort will be firmly dealt with,” she warned while the police watched people marching past the streets of Kolkata and districts with glistening swords prompting a visibly helpless Sujan
Chakrabarty of the CPI(M) to sniff a “hidden alliance between Trinamool and BJP.”