‘BJP politicising religion, people will answer in days to come’

Kolkata: With a section of Matuas led by the BJP MP Shantanu Thakur forbidding Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee from entering the main temple of Thakurbari at Thakurnagar, the latter swore to revisit the place after three months and accused the BJP of once again infusing religion into politics.

Ruckus unfolded at Thakurnagar, North 24-Parganas on Sunday over the visit of Banerjee. A section of the Matua community led by Thakur began staging protests in the morning, raising slogans of ‘Go Back Abhishek’. Banerjee was supposed to visit the main temple in the area to offer prayers but Thakur locked the temple to stop him from entering.

Abhishek later offered his prayers at another temple amid much chaos as a scuffle ensued between two sections of the Matua community with one supporting the TMC, and the other, BJP. Abhishek said that by locking temples, the BJP has again infused religion into politics. “People will make them pay for this in days to come. I swear to return here after three months.”

Abhishek said that he did not have any political programme at Thakurnagar and was only visiting the area to offer his prayers at the main temple to pay his respects to leaders of the Matua community Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur. He alleged that Central forces guarding Shantanu Thakur entered the temple with their shoes on while Thakur’s goons assaulted four women who had to be hospitalised. One of the workers was identified as Ila Bagchi. His allegations were corroborated by a temple priest from Shreedham Thakurnagar Thakurbari.

Abhishek said: “Shantanu Thakur along with his goons forcefully locked up the main temple. They had about 250 supporters and I had around 5000 supporters. We could have easily broken down the door to barge in but this is not a place to show one’s strength. Everyone should be allowed inside a temple. Shantanu Thakur must not treat it as if it is his forefather’s property. What he did today was an insult to Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur who were social reformers and fought against discrimination.”

Abhishek said the incident reminded him that the BJP in the past discriminated against the Matuas who were barred from entering Ram Mandir to offer prayers. He also said, to date, the Modi government has not been able to fulfil its promise of implementing the CAA to grant Matuas citizenship.

He reminded Thakur that the drinking water for his household is provided by the Mamata Banerjee government. “The very road he walks on has also been made by the Mamata Banerjee-led state government, in case he is under the impression that his BJP masters in Delhi have made such developmental works in Bengal,” he said.

Abhishek added that when the matriarch of the Matua community, Boro Ma (Binapani Devi Thakur) was suffering from ill health in her last days, it was Mamata Banerjee who stood by her and looked after her health. “Modi was nowhere around,” he remarked.

Commenting on the complaints by a section of Matua people that Mamata Banerjee still has not apologised for mispronouncing the names of their leaders, Abhishek claimed TMC had issued an apology through its official Twitter handle.