Didi: Ram Mandir a gimmick by BJP before polls

Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday called the proposed inauguration of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya a "gimmick show" by the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha Election.

The Trinamul Congress supremo, who has decided to skip the grand event on January 22, pledged at a rally in Joynagar of South 24 Parganas that as long as her party would stay in power in the state, it would not allow communal divide of the mass.

She said, “Yesterday, I was asked about my opinion on Ram Mandir as if there is no work other than a particular one! I said religion belongs to an individual while festival belongs to all. I believe in that very festival which takes along all and speaks for all and unity.”

Lashing out at the BJP, she added, “You are free to do what you want. Who has objected to you? You are doing a gimmick show under the court order before an election. I have no objection to it. But neglecting a community can not be anyone’s job.”

Ms. Banerjee also pointed out, “As long as TMC and its government are there, I am making a promise to you in the name of your god, Allah, that I will never allow communal divide. They shout slogans for division but our slogan is for unity.”

On the Enforcement Directorate’s crackdown on her party leaders in the ration scam, the CM alleged, “They are so scared of TMC leaders that they are arresting them after raiding their houses in a staged manner and dramatically. They think if TMC leaders are arrested, the areas will be vacated so that the BJP can make entry and beat their drums there. But it's not so easy. We will not leave a single inch of land without a fight.”

Her message coincided with her party leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay's warning to the ED of a "mass outburst" as its director Rahul Navin held a meeting with BSF, CRPF, CISF, and NIA officials at CGO Complex in Salt Lake and met Governor CV Ananda Bose in wake of the attack on a raiding team last week.

Mr Chattopadhyay claimed, “So far, only an incident happened at a place. Soon, there will be mass outburst against ED across Bengal and those states where BJP is not in power.”