Kolkata: Days after the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) tweeted about the ‘lack of democracy’ in the state of West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday slammed PM Narendra Modi for the BJP’s ‘divisive politics’.
“Recently somebody said that there is no democracy in Bengal, but I would ask him to not lecture on democracy as we don’t kill innocent people and police in the name of cow,” said Mamata Banerjee in response to a tweet from the PMO.
The PMO tweet on January 1, 2019 read, “What has happened in West Bengal. A political party (the BJP) is being denied a basic democratic right. Our workers are brutally killed in West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka. Politics of violence has to end. All parties have to reaffirm their commitment to peaceful politics: PM (SIC).”
The West Bengal CM contended that the state believes in democracy and peace.
During a public event in Birbhum district, she said, “Those who kill innocents in the name of cow are now talking about democracy. They only believe in divisive politics and the politics of hatred. We will not allow the same to happen in our state. Communal culture shall not be tolerated here.”
In a recent interview with ANI, PM Modi once again criticised the incidents of political violence and killings of the BJP workers in Bengal during the panchayat polls. He said, “As a worker of the BJP, I strongly condemn it. We have suffered a lot. In West Bengal, the BJP is not even allowed to exercise its democratic rights. It shows that there is no democracy in the state.”
Targeting the BJP’s politics of Hindutva, Banerjee criticised the saffron party for “vitiating the atmosphere and dividing people based on religion”. “They think they are the King of Hindus. In the name of religion, they are lynching the minorities and the Dalits. They now dictate what to eat and what to wear and only believe in riots. People no more have the right to speak,” she said.
“I would like to tell them that don’t teach me about ‘Ram’ or Hinduism. We celebrate Durga Puja and it was Ram who prayed for the blessings of Goddess Durga. In Bengal, people of all religion live together and celebrate all festivals,” Banerjee added.
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