Mamata reaches out to Muslims, including NRIs, in Eid message: Unite, vote against BJP

Scarred by recent Ram Navami riots, TMC steps up attack against BJP, hopes this will woo back its disillusioned minority vote bank

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday attended Kolkata's largest gathering for Eid namaz along the city's arterial Red Road, with her nephew and party second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

Listen to this article

00:00

1x 1.5x 1.8x

Sending a message to her Muslim voters to “unite against the BJP”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday attended Kolkata’s largest gathering for Eid namaz, held under a blazing sun along the city’s arterial Red Road, with her nephew and party second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee, and Cabinet minister Javed Khan in tow.

Wishing the congregation a happy and peaceful Eid-ul-Fitr, she said she doesn’t want riots and divisive politics in the country and promised to do everything to prevent such incidents. “Everybody here stay in peace. Don’t give in to any provocation. The BJP government is trying to cause unrest in Bengal. I will not tolerate unrest in Bengal in any way,” she said.

Also in Political Pulse | Corruption to Muslim vote: Hemmed in, Mamata Banerjee raises defence on several fronts

“We want peace. We don’t want riots. We don’t want the country to get divided. On Eid, I promise to lay down my life, but I won’t allow some people to divide the country. We have to fight against traitors, money power and (central) agencies. I am ready to fight. I have the guts to fight. I am not ready to bow down,” Mamata added.

Less than a month ago, during Ram Navami festivities, the state witnessed two riots, in Shibpur of Howrah district and Rishra of Hooghly district. Blaming the BJP for them, Mamata said: “Some people take money from the BJP and say that they will divide Muslim votes. I tell them that they don’t have the guts.”

She also urged NRI Muslims to return to India before the next Lok Sabha elections in order to vote against the BJP. “Within a year, Lok Sabha elections will be held to decide who will come to power in our country. Let us promise that we will unite and fight against divisive forces. We must ensure that all of us together vote them out in the next polls. If we fail to protect democracy, then everything will be finished.”

Also Read | Mamata shuffles Muslim leadership, shows lessons learnt from Sagardighi bypoll loss

Abhishek, who spoke before Mamata, said: “Many are trying to create differences in the name of religion. Don’t give in to temptation. Eid is decided by sighting the moon. Does the moon have any religion? Hindu festivals are also observed by looking at the moon. The blood flowing in our bodies also has no religion. There is no discrimination in the name of religion in Bengal. And that is why Bengal is different from all other states.”

The BJP was quick to attack Mamata for using a religious platform to give a political speech. BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya said, “She is doing politics of hatred. People will give her their answer democratically.”

Story continues below this ad

Must Read | In further reshuffle of TMC’s Muslim outreach, Mamata Banerjee takes charge of Minority Affairs Dept

CPI(M) leader Md. Selim said, “Both the TMC and BJP are trying to polarise the atmosphere. This is not the culture of Bengal. She is the one responsible for bringing the BJP into Bengal. Now she is doing politics by shaking hands with the Jamaat, which is an RSS-like communal force. We have to fight against this democratically and with the people.”

But a senior TMC leader said the party will continue this line of politics. “The slew of corruption allegations have pushed us on the backfoot in state politics. As a result, we lost the bypoll in Sagardighi, where the minority vote bank got divided and the Left Front-Congress managed to win. It is clear that after two riots in Howrah and Hooghly, and the continuous campaign by Mamata Banerjee against the BJP, we are regaining our footprint among the minorities.”