Why do you want us to stop chanting 'Jai Shri Ram', Lord Rama is every Indian's idol: Amit Shah asks Mamata

Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Tuesday launched a veiled attack on West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee while addressing an election rally in West Bengal.

BJP President Amit Shah (PTI Photo/ File)

Medinipur: Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Tuesday launched a veiled attack on West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee while addressing an election rally in West Bengal. Addressing a political rally in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur, Shah asked: "Mamata Didi, why do you want to stop us from chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’ in India? Shree Ram is the idol of every Indian, he exists in the culture and ethos of India. No one can stop Indians from worshipping him." Shah's remarks came a day after Banerjee said that ‘Jai Shri Ram’ is the BJP’s slogan and it is trying to force everybody to chant it. “Does Ramchandra become BJP’s election agent when election comes?” the fiery TMC supremo asked at public rallies here. None can be forced to chant what Narendra Modi or BJP wants, she said adding that West Bengal’s culture has never been what the saffron party is trying to make it. Speaking on the mood of the nation amid the ongoing general elections, Shah said that he had visited more than 290 Lok Sabha constituencies so far and experienced a lot of diversity in various parts of the country. "However, one uniting factor that does not change with regions is the love for PM Modi that is palpable in the slogan of 'Modi-Modi'." Shah reiterated the Modi government's stance on the Citizenship Amendment Bill saying that they will first bring CAB to give Indian citizenship to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Christian refugees from the neighbouring countries and then will ensure that every infiltrator is identified and deported out of India. Shah also defended his campaign’s focus on national security, claiming that the Modi government has separated India’s diplomatic policy from its defence policy for the first time since independence.