I appease humanity, not Muslims: Mamata
Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday reiterated that she respects all religion as she believes that no religion is greater than humanity.
"Some people accuse me of appeasing the Muslims. But I want to make it clear that I appease humanity. Our religion stands for unity, for love, for amity, for empowering the weak and not
for divide and rule. We may practice different religions and have different food habits, but festivals are for all and humanity is the greatest religion," Banerjee said at a programme to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Swami Pranabanandaji – the founder of Bharat Sevashram Sangha.
Banerjee also took the opportunity to take a dig at the BJP (without taking the name of any party) for its politics of divide and rule and said that she stands for a religion that can form a society of peace and brotherhood and stands beside a person in distress.
"Nowadays, there are some people who do not believe in live and let live and are only concerned about their own interests. Those who believe in these sorts of bizarre ideas have lost their power of thinking. We believe in constructive ideas that have the power to create a peaceful society and to stand by distressed people in times of crisis," Banerjee said.
She also referred to the event in September 2018, when she had to cancel her trip to Chicago even after being invited to the historic occasion to mark 125 years of Swami Vivekananda's historic speech at the Parliament of Religions.
"I was invited and I had accepted the invitation to go to Chicago. But they (the Centre) wrote to me that the event has been cancelled due to some unavoidable reason. I do not want to elaborate what actually was the case," she said.
The Chief Minister also praised Bharat Sevashram Sangha for its leading role in helping out the poor and needy people.
"This is an organisation that works at the grassroot level. Wherever there is a crisis or a natural calamity, you will find volunteers of the Sangh extending their helping hand," she maintained.
She upheld the contributions of religious teachers and reformers like Ramkrishna Paramhansa and Swami Vivekananda in preaching Hinduism that stands for tolerance.
"Our religion is universal and has its door ajar for all. Unity in diversity is our strength," she asserted.
