Poet Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s Shantiniketan (abode of peace) once again turned into a political theatre less than 10 days after the Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a massive parade at Bolpur in Birbhum district.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday led an equally impressive roadshow attacking Shah and the BJP for importing “fake politics and hate politics” in the State.
Calling upon the people to “oust the Bargis (Maratha invaders of 18th century were called thus in Bengal) who have come here to generate fake politics, spread hatred and spark riots,” Mamata said, adding, “they have not only smeared the Viswa Bharati campus which was scarcely politicised in the past but they have also not spared even a Nobel laureate and a son of the soil like Amartya Sen.”
A time has come when the people of Bengal were tasked with a duty to “oust the Bargis who are soiling our culture and spoiling our lives by splurging money in order to buy not only the people’s representatives but also the voters,” Mamata said.
She asked the people to accept the cash offered but not vote for their symbol (lotus) as they are masters of fake and hate politics whose duty is only to spread hatred and ignite riots.
Referring to Shah’s rally Mamata said, “There are some parties that organise roadshows where you will find more banners and flags than the people.”
“Hours after the Chief Minister’s roadshow TMC strongman and district party president Anubrata Mondal said at least three lakh people had gathered at the Bolpur rally.”
In a veiled reference to Shah who has on several occasion dined at common people’s residences during his recent visits to Bengal, the Chief Minister said, “Some outsiders are frequently appearing at the people’s durbar here in quest of votes just before the elections.”
While such weekly appearances are punctuated by “five-star feasts they are making a false show of breaking bread with the tribal people at their houses,” Mamata said, adding “no one has this right to insult the adivasi brothers and sisters and the poor people of Bengal.”
In a circuitous reference to her once close aide, senior party leader and former Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s switching sides to the BJP the Chief Minister said, “There are some rotten MLAs who are going to that party but just by buying a few rejected MLAs don’t think you can buy the Trinamool Congress.”
Incidentally, Adhikari on Tuesday held a mega rally at Nandigram his home turf from where he is known to have spearheaded the land movement for Mamata Banerjee in 2007 ultimately bringing down the Left Front Government in 2011.
Referring to Shah’s promise of converting Bengal into a Sonar Bangla the Chief Minister said, “Who are these outsiders to do so … Sonar Bangla had already been visualised by Rabindranath Tagore … these people are trying to take the credit for that too.”
“Those who don’t respect Tagore, Netaji and even Mahatma Gandhi are talking of building ‘Sonar Bangla’. But Bengal is already golden and Rabindranath Tagore has already written that in his song (which is now the national anthem of Bangladesh). Our duty is to protect that legacy from the communal politics of the BJP,” she said.
Attacking the saffron leadership for “smearing the Viswa Bharati-Shantiniketan campus with dirty politics”, she said even the authorities like the Central university’s vice chancellors were acting like BJP rubber stamp. “This great university was never communally charged before … this is a shame for us,” she said.
