Won't tolerate insult of Bengal: Mamata
Kolkata: Raising a question on why BJP is "anti-Bengali", Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee lashed out without naming the party's national president Amit Shah, for insulting Bengal.
While speaking to the media persons in the state Assembly on Monday, Banerjee once again launched a scathing attack at BJP over the NRC issue and its vendetta politics.
After knowing from a journalist that people are being taken to detention camps in Assam by labelling them as "infiltrators" and that they are miserable without proper food and clothing, Banerjee asked: "Are jamdani sarees, hilsa, misti doi, sandesh and mangoes also going to be tagged as infiltrators or refugees?" It may be mentioned that the same are famous in Bangladesh.
In the same breath she said: "People who don't have any idea about the culture and tradition of Bengal, pass such comments. I cannot provide if anyone asks me to show my mother's birth certificate. I don't even know the birthdays of my parents. There should be a system for everything. I received a message while attending a programme and its sender sought the voters' list of 1970. It shows that people who had their names in the then voters' list, are also getting excluded (from Assam's NRC)."
"Some organisations which are fighting against this are going to meet me on Tuesday," Banerjee said, adding that a message of hatred is being spread to create differences among people.
She further said that already 833 people have been taken to detention camps. People from Murshidabad, who had gone there to sell sarees, have also faced similar consequences. "Do the people, who fought to stand on their own feet after turning refugees during the partition, have to turn refugees again?" she asked, adding that she has always stood by the refugees.
She raised the question: "Why is BJP so anti-Bangla? The language is in the second position in Asia and fifth in the entire world. We speak and honour all languages. Then what is their (BJP's) problem? Do they fear the culture, tradition and merit of Bengal? We shouldn't forget that Bengal was once the capital of the country and all reforms had initiated from here only."
Without naming the BJP national president, she said: "I do not like people who insult Bengal. I was shocked when the state was insulted."
Citing an example of the political courtesy of Bengal, Banerjee said that after filing candidature in 1984, she had gone to Somnath Chatterjee to pay respect. It may be mentioned that it was the only Parliamentary election where Chatterjee had lost, during his political career spanning over four decades. "There were also debates over various issues in the Parliament, but we have shown him the honour that he deserved," she said.
