Speaking at an election meeting in West Bengal’s Purulia, where he shared the stage with Bharat Sevashram Sangha monk Swami Nityasudhananda among others, Modi said: “Chunav mein Bengal ke logon ko darane, dhamkane, hinsa karane wali TMC sarkar ne iss baar sari hadein paar kar di hain (The TMC government, which has been threatening and unleashing violence on the people of Bengal during the elections, has crossed all limits this time).”
“Aaj desh aur duniya mein ISKCON, Ramakrishna Mission, jo Swami Vivekananda ji ne banaya tha, aur Bharat Sevashram Sangha seva aur sadachar ke liye jaane jate hain… Lekin aj Bengal ki Mukhyamantri ISKCON walo ko, Ramakrishna Mission walo ko, Bharat Sevashram ke sanyasiyon ko khule taur par dhamka rahi hain, khule manch se chetavni de rahi hain…. Itni himmat, sirf apne vote bank ko khush karne ke liye (ISKCON, Ramakrishna Mission, which was founded by Swami Vivekananda, and Bharat Sevashram Sangha, are known for their service and morality across the world. But the West Bengal Chief Minister is openly threatening them from a public platform… Such audacity, just to please their vote bank),” he said.
“(The TMC) government, which does not have any respect for such religious organisations, has to be taught a big lesson through your votes so that it does not dare to insult such organisations in the future,” Modi told the gathering.
At another rally in Bishnupur, the Prime Minister said Banerjee was targeting the monks because she is “under pressure from Muslim fundamentalists”.
“These organisations have brought glory to Bengal, but the CM of the state claims they are ruining Bengal. Under pressure from Muslim fundamentalists, she has publicly insulted our faith,” he said.
This came a day after Banerjee said at a rally in Hooghly, “There is a maharaj in Baharampur – I have been hearing about him for a long time. Kartik Maharaj (a Bharat Sevashram Sangha monk) says he will not allow any TMC agent in the polling booth. I do not consider him a saint because he is directly involved in politics and is ruining the country. I used to respect Bharat Sevashram Sangha a lot. It has been on my list of respected organisations for a long time.”
She also mentioned the Ramakrishna Mission, claiming that its members were receiving “instructions from Delhi”. “Some monks of Ramakrishna Mission and Bharat Sevashram Sangha are working under the influence of BJP leaders in Delhi. Those who are looking after temples are doing a great spiritual job, but not everyone. This is not done. We respect the monks,” she said.
Bharat Sevashram Sangha’s chief secretary Swami Vishwanathananda rejected the Chief Minister’s allegations. “We never indulge in election campaigning nor do we issue instructions to talk about elections. We have several branches. Now, if anyone has said anything, then it is his personal matter. We are looking into it,” he said.
The Bharat Sevashram Sangha is a religious and spiritual organisation founded in 1917 by Acharya Srimat Swami Pranavananda Maharaj.
A senior monk from the Ramakrishna Mission – a spiritual and philanthropic organisation founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1897 – said the group was engaged in spreading “the eternal values of religion and spiritualism among people”.
“To my knowledge, neither the mission nor any monk of our order had asked anyone to vote for any particular party. Thousands of visitors from all walks of life come to our premises to pray and meditate. Everyone is the same for us,” the monk said.
Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar called Banerjee’s accusations against the monks delusional. “As the Chief Minister, her delusional accusation is a travesty for the people of Bengal,” he said.