The Ramakrishna Mission has expressed strong objection to seniorTrinamool Congress MLA Dr Nirmal Maji’s comparison of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Sharada Devi the Holy Mother of the Order.
“Ramakrishna Mission strongly objects to the remarks made by a politician about our Holy Mother Sharada who is the driving force of the Order … we have been receiving numerous mails, messages and telephone calls from the devotees of the Ramakrishna Mission who have strong faith and reverence for Sharada Devi our Divine Mother … we have no word to express our disapproval for the needless remark about Ma Sharada,” said Swami Subirananda Maharaj the Secretary of the Math and Mission in a video message, adding the Order hoped “no such remarks will be made in future.”
Dr Maji a senior TMC politician had earlier claimed that Chief Minister was the reincarnation of Mother Sharada.
“I have been told by the monks of Ramakrishna Mission who quoted some companions of Swami Vivekananda saying Mother Sharada had once told them before her demise that in her next life she would reincarnate in South Kolkata around today’s Kalighat and Harish Chatterjee Street area (the official residence of Banerjee) and get involved in political and social activities,” Dr Maji said adding he had “no doubts that Mamata Banerjee is the Holy Mother Sharada
Ramakrishna Mission’s official rebuttal of Dr Maji’s remarks came after about two days during which the Trinamool Congress leadership maintained conspicuous silence.
Mother Sharada was the wife and Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa the Master and Guru of Swami Vivekananda who founded the Ramakrishna Mission in order to spread his ideas of unity of religion and service to mankind. While Maji would not comment TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said that his statement was uncalled for as “Mamata Banerjee is a name to reckon with while Mother Sharada needs no introduction … the two cannot be and should not be compared because they belong to different fields.”
BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya too scoffed at the TMC leadership saying “sycophancy has reached such levels in the Trinamool Congress that tomorrow no one will be surprised if someone claims that Swami Vivekananda has reborn in the same Banerjee family.” Bhattacharya would not however name TMC general secretary and the Chief Minister’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee.