On consecration day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata leads rally for harmony
The Hindu
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee leads all-faith harmony rally in Kolkata, visiting places of worship representing different religions.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a ‘Sanhati rally’ (rally for communal harmony) in Kolkata on the day of consecration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22 and used the platform to throw a challenge at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
Ms. Banerjee accused the BJP of indulging in “politics over religion” and labelled the saffron party “anti-women” for “omitting” Sita from its discourse on Ram. “They [BJP] talk about Ram, but what about Sita? She was all along with Ram during his exile. They don’t speak about her as they are anti-women. We are worshippers of Goddess Durga, so they should not try to lecture us about religion,” the Trinamool Congress chairperson said.
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After offering prayers at the Kalighat temple, a gurdwara, a mosque and a church during her five-km rally from Hazra to Park Circus, Ms. Banerjee touched upon almost every political issue, from the Centre’s alleged denial of payment of wages under the MGNREGA scheme, to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), while emphasising on communal harmony and religious amity.
“The people of Bengal have a great responsibility to save the country, to save religious harmony and save people of all religions,” Ms. Banerjee said at the culmination of the procession. With slogans of ‘Hindu- Muslim Bhai Bhai’ , she exhorted the people to fight BJP in the upcoming general election.
Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also urged the people not to vote in the name of religion but to vote in the interest of the State.
Religious leaders of different faiths also addressed the gathering before the party chairperson sounded the bugle for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. “I do not have any objections if someone worships Ram or prays to Allah. My objection is that unemployment is the highest in the country. There are attempts to interfere with the food habits of people,” the Trinamool chairperson said.
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