Calling the upcoming inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22 a “pre-election gimmick” which is being held “under a court order”, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee lambasted the BJP for using the excuse to “divide the various communities in this country”.
Banerjee has already indicated that she may skip the scheduled inauguration ceremony and send a representative instead.
Speaking at a government function at Joynagar in South 24 Parganas on Tuesday afternoon, Banerjee, in reference to her thoughts on the Temple inauguration, said: I say that religion is a private matter while a festival belongs to everybody. I believe in festivals that are inclusive in nature and speak of the unity of people. Who is stopping you from inaugurating Ram Mandir amid much fanfare? You are doing this under court direction as a pre-election gimmick. I have nothing against it. But that doesn’t mean that people from other communities would be ignored.”
“But I make a waada (pledge) and swear by Ishwar and Allah that as long as the Trinamul Congress government is in power, I will not allow any division among Hindus and Muslims or, for that matter, between any other communities,” she announced.
Among the fresh schemes Banerjee announced from the dais was construction of 12,000 kilometers of rural roads in the 2023-24 fiscal at a project cost of Rs 4000 crores, solely shouldered by the state under the Pathashree-III scheme. She also claimed to have handed out government sops to some 20,000 beneficiaries of the district from the programme.
Targeting the Centre for withholding funds for centrally sponsored schemes like MNREGS, rural housing and rural roads, the chief minister also expressed her irritation for “central diktat to paint scheme-related establishments in saffron”. “Why should we paint our buildings in BJP colours?” she asked. “Even if they contribute one rupee for a scheme, they want us to print BJP logos on scheme documents. I am duty bound to print Government of India and state government logos on them. But I am not bound to carry any party logos on government schemes,” she stated.
Reiterating her stand on the CAA implementation debate, the Trinamul chief said: “You have witnessed how we built movements to resist NRC and CAA. We consider the Bilkis Bano victory in the Supreme Court also a victory for the Trinamul since our former MP Mahua Moitra, who was forcefully expelled from the Parliament, was one of the petitioners in the case. It is symbolic of how this party fights for justice. We don’t indulge rapists.”
“They blame the Trinamul for everything that happens here, even natural phenomena. In reality, they shiver in fear in the name of Trinamul,” The Trinamul supremo said, perceptively blaming the BJP-led Centre. “That’s why they cook up stories and create dramas while raiding the homes of Trinamul leaders and arresting them. They think they would remove TMC leaders from the scene ahead of the polls and enable the BJP to sneak in. It’s not that easy. We will not give up without a fight,” she declared.
