'Divisive Politics': BJP Hits Back After CM Mamata Announces TMC's 'Rally For Harmony' On January 22

TMC chief Banerjee said she would begin the procession from the Hazra crossing in south Kolkata after paying obeisance to Goddess Kali at the Kalighat temple.

File photo of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ( Image Source :PTI )

New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that her party, Trinamool Congress (TMC), will lead a 'rally for harmony' with people of all religions on January 22 amid the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.

 

TMC chief Banerjee said she would begin the procession from the Hazra crossing in south Kolkata after paying obeisance to Goddess Kali at the Kalighat temple, reported PTI.

"On January 22, I will visit the Kalighat temple and offer puja. Then I will take part in a harmony rally with people of all religions. This has nothing to do with any other programme," she said at a presser.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee says, "I will do a rally on January 22. It will begin from Kali Mandir, where I will visit to offer prayers to Maa Kaali. Following that, we will hold an interfaith rally from Hazra to Park Circus Maidan and hold a meeting there. We will cover… pic.twitter.com/EJLhqta9J4

— ANI (@ANI) January 16, 2024

BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya hit back at Bengal CM, saying that this is the worst example of "divisive politics."

"This is the worst ever example of divisive politics. Mamata Banerjee's politics is to break. Can chanting Lord Ram's name be linked to communalism? Holding rally (referring to 'Harmony rally') on January 22 means that attempt is being made to create a communal divide in West Bengal," he told PTI.

VIDEO | "This is the worst ever example of divisive politics. Mamata Banerjee's politics is to break. Can chanting Lord Ram's name be linked to communalism? Holding rally (referring to 'Harmony rally') on January 22 means that attempt is being made to create a communal divide in… pic.twitter.com/4HumLWRSYC

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 16, 2024

Meanwhile, the march will touch upon places of worship of different religions, including mosques, churches, and gurdwaras, before culminating at the Park Circus Maidan.

"Everybody is welcome to join the rally. On the same day, my party members will hold a rally in every block, in every district at 3 pm," banerjee added.

She said that 'Pran Pratistha' or consecration is not the job of politicians but of priests. "It is not our job to do 'Pran Pratistha'. It is the job of the priests. Our job is to create infrastructure," she said, the PTI report added.

Last week, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party president Sonia Gandhi, and leader of the party in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had turned down the invitation to attend the consecration ceremony.

The Congress leadership "respectfully declined" the invitation to attend the ceremony, while accusing the BJP of making it into a "political project" for electoral gains and asserting that religion is a "personal matter".