Mamata's ire over BJP's 'anti-people policies' finds voice in poetry

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has penned a poem on Monday, criticising the BJP government's anti-people policies and preventing her from attending functions in the country and abroad.

It may be recalled that she had written another poem on Monday, to express her solidarity with the people of Assam whose names have been dropped from the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Banerjee, through her poem titled Untouchable, said that anyone opposing BJP has been branded as "Untouchable." She has faced the Centre's denial, which led her to cancel the China trip and attend a function to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's historic speech at Chicago. Also, the refusal to address the students at St. Stephen's College has also come up in the poem.

First, the Centre created confusion over her China trip which she had to cancel at the 11th hour. The ministry of External Affairs did not put forward any concrete logic for the same.

Again, she was invited by the Ramakrishna Mission to attend a function at Chicago in to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Swamiji's speech at the World Parliament of Religions which was held in the city in 1893. The RKM wrote a letter to her and apologised for cancelling the programme. The reason cited was the sudden demise of Swami Abhiramananda, one of the Assistant General Secretaries of the Order. It has been learnt that the MEA had put pressure on RKM to cancel the programme.

The Chief Minister writes: "Do you want to go to China? No comments please. Political diplomacy cancelled it. Want to go to Chicago to commemorate 125 years of Swami Vivekananda's address? Religious monopoly shut down the door."

Banerjee has also criticised the cancellation of the programme where she was scheduled to address the students of St. Stephen's College. She writes: "Accepted the invitation of St. Stephen's College. Not allowed friend. See the class struggle."

The BJP's move to brand everyone as "anti-national" has also been reflected in her poem. Banerjee writes: "Want to protest for Indian citizens in Assam? You are anti-national. Fortunately you were born in West Bengal. Otherwise you would have been called intruders."