Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee's remark that “all in the RSS are not bad” has sparked a row with several Opposition parties — from Congress to CPI(M) and AIMIM — slamming her and calling it “opportunistic”. At a press conference on Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee said: “RSS wasn't that bad earlier. I don’t believe that they (RSS) are bad. Still, there are many good people in RSS and they don't support BJP.” The sharpest attack came from the Hyderabad-based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who on Thursday said that “in 2003 too, she had called RSS ‘patriots’, (and) in turn Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh had called her Durga”. Owaisi, whose party failed to win a single seat, including Muslim majority constituencies in West Bengal in the last Assembly elections where it positioned itself as opposed to both TMC and BJP, then targeted the RSS, saying it wants “Hindu Rashtra”. He said that Mamata Banerjee had defended the BJP government in Parliament after the Gujarat riots. “Hope the TMC’s ‘Muslim faces’ praise her for her honesty and consistency,” the AIMIM chief added. West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said: “This is not the first time that she (Mamata Banerjee) has praised the RSS.” Reiterating Owaisi’s remark in which he had referred to the 2003 incident, Chowdhury said: “She (Mamata) had participated in a book release programme of the RSS. She had sought their support to topple the Left Front government (then). Even before that, Banerjee had expressed her gratitude to the Nagpur-based RSS, which is considered the ideological parent of the BJP.” The CPI(M) also slammed the chief minister, saying is playing the role of Durga for the RSS. “RSS called her Durga and she is playing the role of Durga for the RSS,” CPI(M) leader Md Selim said. — With PTI inputs
