Addressing a public programme in Joynagar in South 24 Parganas district, Banerjee said she doesn’t believe in dividing masses on religious lines.
“Yesterday, I was asked about Ram Mandir… I said religion belongs to different individuals, but festivals are for everyone. I believe in festivals that take along people from all communities, talk about everyone, and speak of unity… You are doing it (construction of the Ram temple) on the court’s order. He (Prime Minister Modi) will do a gimmick show before the elections. I have no objection. But it is nobody’s business to neglect people of other communities… I don’t believe in dividing people on religious lines,” the TMC chief said.
“As long as the Trinamool Congress is there, as long as the Trinamool Congress government is there, I promise you that I will never allow Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Scheduled Tribes to be divided,” she added.
The Ram temple in Ayodhya will be inaugurated on January 22, with Prime Minister Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and more than 6,000 people expected to attend the ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony.
Mamata Banerjee also hit out at the BJP government at the Centre over the “pro-activeness” of central agencies against Opposition leaders.
Days after a team of Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials was attacked by a mob of villagers during a raid at a local TMC leader’s house in connection with the alleged ration scam, Banerjee said: “The Government of India is running like an agency government. The way rats and mice are roaming, they will loot your hard-earned money. You won’t even get a list of the seized items. I would like to ask the chief secretary if the items taken by the CBI in the Bogtui case have been recovered.”
Hitting out at the Centre for not paying the state’s dues, Banerjee said, “They are not giving money for 100 days of work (under MGNREGA). They are not giving money for building houses. They are not giving money for building roads. But they say everything should be painted in BJP’s colours.”
“Last year, 76 teams came from the centre. I recently met the Prime Minister. He said he would speak with ministry officials. But they don’t pay our dues. There’s no shame in them” she added.
The TMC chief also attacked the BJP over the Bilkis Bano case, accusing the party of trying to save the rapists. “They tried to save the culprits of Bilkis Bano case, but the Supreme Court delivered a strong order against them. They expel our MP Mahua Moitra, who was among those who appealed in the Supreme Court against the remission of 11 convicts of Bilkis Bano rape and murder case,” the CM said.