BJP MP from Bankura, Subhas Sarkar, on Sunday paid floral tributes at the statue of an unidentified hunter here, claiming it to be that of Birsa Munda on the tribal freedom fighter’s birth anniversary.

Born on November 15, 1875, in Uihatu village now located in Ranchi, Jharkhand, Bhagwan Birsa Munda, as he is called, is among the foremost tribal icons.

Earlier on November 5, Union home minister Amit Shah, in Bengal for a two-day visit, had in his tribal outreach event in Bankura offered floral tributes to the statue of a tribal hunter with tree branches on the head. BJP sources had claimed the statue was a likeness of Munda. Tribal residents countered the claim, saying it was of an anonymous tribal hunter. The BJP had hurriedly organised Munda’s picture and placed it at the statue’s feet.

Tribal organisations and Trinamul had slammed the move. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said this was another example of the BJP’s “outsider” syndrome. Some tribal outfits called it “humiliation”.

The BJP stayed adamant. The party’s Bankura MP’s tribute on Sunday came in the wake of comments by state party president Dilip Ghosh two days after Shah’s tribute. Ghosh told journalists that his party considered the statue to be of Munda as Shah paid tributes to it.

“We see him (Birsa Munda) as a freedom fighter. The home minister has garlanded the statue. We also kept a portrait of Birsa Munda there and he (Shah) garlanded it too. We considered the statue as that of Birsa Munda and paid our respective tributes. The statue will be of Birsa Munda from today, after the announcement by our home minister, even if they (the state government) do not name it. Everyone has to accept it,” Ghosh said.

On Sunday, the district wing of ST Morcha organised an event where MP Sarkar paid tribute to the tribal freedom fighter.

Sarkar then said: “It is well known that the statue is of Birsa Munda and Trinamul is still trying to politicise the issue. This programme has been hosted by the tribal community of Mundas...”

The chief of the party’s ST Morcha in Bankura, Baidyanath Hansda, confirmed the event was hosted by his wing and claimed the statue was Munda’s.

Many tribal leaders pointed out that many had called this move “dirty politics with a hero” on social media posts.

“It is dirty politics played by the BJP to establish an untruth. I can’t understand why BJP leaders are making the issue bitter by calling the tribal hunter Birsa Munda, that too on his birth anniversary. We have never seen a statue of Munda with tree branches on his head,” said Biplab Saren, district secretary of the Bharat Jakat Majhi Pargana Mahal.

Trinamul leaders said that despite knowing the truth about the statue, BJP was trying to “establish” BJP state president Dilip Ghosh’s comments. “It was not only low, BJP intentionally hurt the tribal sentiments by making a hunter’s statue into that of Birsa Munda. We will set up a larger statue of Munda near the hunter’s one. No one can then ignore the tribal hero,” said Shyamal Santra, Trinamul chief in Bankura and state minister.