West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee today said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should not use religion, saffron robes and arms to seek votes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
On Ram Navami – the day BJP and its allied organisations took out processions along with display of arms all over the state – Banerjee, at a public meeting in north Bengal’s Siliguri advised her political opponents to not “sell religion”. “We don’t need to do that,” she said.
“Saffron robes mean sacrifice and suffering. And to use the saffron robe to seek votes is shameful,” she said. “There is saffron outside, but it’s all black inside,” she said.
Mamata Banerjee called for the unity of different religions – something she has been doing in most of her public, political meetings so far. Only, it became more significant on Ram Navami, when hundreds took to the streets led by the BJP and other right wing organisations with show of arms to celebrate the birth of Lord Rama.
“We celebrate all religions,” she said. “Different religions are like different members of the same family,” Banerjee added. “That has been the culture of Bengal.”
She led a blistering attack on the display of arms saying: “I have heard that many took out gadaa and swords to seek votes. Whose heads will you break with the gadaa, whose heads will you cut off with the swords?” she asked.
Banerjee was also clear about her stand on seeking votes, apart from clearly establishing her party’s position on religious unity.
She asked the electorate to not “waste” their votes by voting for the Congress or the Left parties. “This is the national election, and Trinamool Congress will help form the government at the Centre. By voting for the Congress or the Left, you’ll be wasting your votes because only the Trinamool Congress, with 42 seats from Bengal can help oust the BJP from the Centre,” she said.
Banerjee added that she had not fielded candidates from Kerala, where the Left was strong. “Similarly, there’s no point of voting for the Left here because we are strong here,” she said. “If you vote for the Left and the Congress, it will only help the BJP,” Banerjee added.
