Minister Sukanta can’t agree to my slogan in public: Suvendu
Times of India | 19 July 2024
Kolkata: Despite intense criticism from within the party and outside, Bengal leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday held on to his “jo hamare saath, hum unke saath” stand, saying that Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar could not endorse his statement owing to his position as a Union minister and president of the party’s state unit. Adhikari’s slogan, which he uttered on Wednesday at a party meet, was directly against PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ slogan.
“NDA govt’s policy is inclusive and being a Union minister and the state president, Sukanta can’t deviate from that. However, even if he can’t accept it in public, in private, he will have to agree to what I said,” Adhikari said at a programme in Nandigram. “I have freedom of speech and I conveyed what I felt. My statement was from a political platform, not an administrative platform. Should I stay with a jailed worker or support the one who tears down our flags? I believe in this philosophy and work accordingly,” he added.
Barely an hour after Adhikari’s statement, former BJP national general secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi posted on X: “Words from some overzealous functionaries, made in haste, can promote the issue of untouchability. While faith should be respected, untouchability should not be preserved.” While the former Union minister did not name the Bengal leader of opposition, his choice of word to refer to functionaries was “adhikariyon”.
The party distanced itself from Adhikari’s statements. BJP’s national Minority Morcha president Jamal Siddique said: “I know Adhikari personally. He might have got swayed in emotion. I am sure he does not believe in what he said. He should revisit the philosophy of BJP. ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ is the soul of BJP and the two can’t be separated. The Minority Morcha has been working hard and will continue to do so.” State Minority Morcha president Charles Nandy added: “There is resentment among the karyakartas.”
“We don’t believe in politics based on religion. However, we have been saying time and again that a silent demographic invasion is on the rise in Bengal. Demographic character of the border districts has changed,” Bengal BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.
Reacting to this, former TMC Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh said: “It only strengthens what he (Adhikari) said earlier... BJP is a communal party, which does not believe in the Constitution and secularism. They only believe in marketing a rabid Hindutva.” Asked whether it would give BJP political dividends, Ghosh said, “Ayodhya is the answer. They lost Faizabad.” Calling Adhikari’s statement the “core philosophy of BJP”, Ghosh added: “BJP always pursued a politics of exclusion. Although it is trying to isolate Adhikari now, he has actually unmasked the party. Adhikari’s reaction might have come from his frustration over poll results, but he is a far better politician and not many in BJP can match his political acumen.”