On the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda as India celebrated Birsa Munda Jayanti, both Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamul Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee paid respects to the iconic tribal leader.
Mamata Banerjee wrote in Bengali on her X handle: “Joy Johar. My respectful obeisance to the heroic leader of the Munda rebellion, Dharti Aaba Bhagwan Birsa Munda on his 150th birth anniversary. This special day is being celebrated with due dignity across the state. A government holiday has been declared on his birthday.
“The name of this spirit of the tribal community is associated with one of our universities in Junglemahal. To honour him, we have also named a college after him in North Bengal.”
Diamond Harbour MP and Trinamul leader Abhishek Banerjee wrote: “On the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, I pay my deepest homage to one of India’s most revered icons of courage, sacrifice and resistance.
“A young visionary who rose against injustice, fought fearlessly for the rights of his people and ignited a movement that reshaped the course of our nation’s history, Birsa Munda’s legacy continues to inspire every struggle for dignity, equity and self-respect.
“His call for social harmony, empowerment of the marginalised, and protection of our land and environment remains profoundly relevant even today. May his ideals guide us towards a more inclusive and humane future for generations to come.”
The Trinamul Congress on the occasion highlighted many crime cases in the recent past. The party on its official X handle posed: “Crimes against Adivasis have shot up by a staggering 90 per cent from 6,827 in 2014 to 12,960 in 2023. In just one year, between 2022 and 2023, crimes against STs skyrocketed by 28.8 per cent, with the crime rate surging from 9.6 to 12.4.
“ Where are Tribals the most unsafe? Not Bengal. But Manipur and Madhya Pradesh, both proudly governed by @BJP4India. In Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi, BJP leader Pravesh Shukla was caught on camera URINATING on a tribal youth.
“In Bengal, BJP’s own LoP @SuvenduWB has proudly declared that respected Tribal leaders like Debnath Hansda and Birbaha Hansda are ‘infants’ who belong under his boots.
And after this mountain of hate, humiliation, and violence, the same BJP dares to lecture Bengal? Dares to use Adivasi lives as political props while presiding over the worst atrocities in the country?
#AdivasiBirodhiBJP is the biggest threat to Tribal safety in India. Their own data, their own crimes, and their own leaders expose the truth louder than any post their WhatsApp University manufactures.”