CM anguished over Assam killings

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday expressed anguish over the killing of five Bengali-speaking people in Assam and said an "environment of violence" is prevailing in the country.

In the time of the festival of lights, sadness descended on the minds of the people because of the massacre, Banerjee said while inaugurating a Kali Puja at Girish Park in North Kolkata on her return from Cooch Behar.

Stating that the BJP has unleashed a "Reign of Terror," she said: "I am inaugurating the Puja with a heavy heart as five of our brothers have been killed by the Ultras in Assam on Thursday night. It is most unfortunate."

Coming down heavily on the BJP, she added: "BJP has made everyone unhappy. I have spoken to many businessmen and they have told me that the saffron party is letting loose the agencies like the CBI, IT and ED if they failed to oblige the party. Many have told me that senior officials of these agencies have told them to join the RSS. This is most unfortunate."

She alleged that the BJP is trying to "destabilise society and create a chaos throughout the country. It has given an impression that only BJP leaders and followers love this country. We love the soil of India and consider it to be our Mother. To us, mother and country are synonymous and we believe that peace is not there in our country as the BJP is constantly trying to divide society on the basis of caste and religion. They are trying to infuse discrimination which has never been a part of our culture by introducing hate politics."

She thanked the administration and police for conducting Durga Puja peacefully. "There will be Kali Puja and Deepavali followed by Chhath and then Jagadhatri Puja. We believe that religions are for individuals to follow while celebrations are for one and all. Some of us worship Maa Durga or Kali or Ganapati or Krishna. There are 10 forms of Kali. But now the BJP is deciding whom should we worship and what food should we take."

The Chief Minister urged people to cooperate with the administration to celebrate the "Festival of Lights" peacefully. She also urged the locals to abide by the guidelines regarding the bursting of crackers.

She prayed to goddess Kali to remove darkness from the minds and "lit up our hearts."

Banerjee inaugurated the Kali Puja at Janbazar and released a souvenir containing articles on the philosophy and history of Kali Puja. The same has been edited by Sankhya Basu.

In the next couple of days, a delegation of Trinamool MPs/MLA will visit the families of those brutally killed in Tinsukia.