West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
"West Bengal Cheif Minister and Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee accused BJP of trying to mix religion with politics. In her Facebook post, Banerjee said that while every party has its own slogans, 'Jai Shree Ram' has religious overtones.
She said in her post that she does understand social and religious sentiments attached with the slogan 'Jai Shree Ram' but made a case to keep religion separate from politics.
Here is the full text of her Facebook post
We wish to inform the people that some BJP supporters are trying to spread hatred ideology through one section of media - so so called BJP media and so so called fake video, fake news, misinformation and disinformation to create confusion and to suppress truth and reality.
So far as media is considered, we have no problem as it is their choice and prerogative.
From Ram Mohan Roy to Vidyasagar to other great social reformers, Bengal has been a seat of harmony, progress and forward thinking. But now, the misconceived strategy of BJP is targeting Bengal in a very negative manner.
I have no problem, regarding any particular slogan of political parties in their rallies, and for their party purpose. Every political party has their own slogan. My party has Jai Hind, Vande Mataram. The Left has Inquilab Zindabad. Others have different slogans. We respect each other.
Jai Sia Ram, Jai Ram ji ki, Ram naam Satya hai etc have religious and social connotations. We respect these sentiments.
But BJP is using religious slogan Jai Sri Ram as their party slogan in a misconceived manner by way of mixing religion with politics.
We do not respect this forcible enforcement of political slogans on others in the name of so called RSS which Bengal never accepted.
This is a deliberate attempt to sell hatred ideology through vandalism and violence which we must oppose together.
One can fool some people sometimes, but cannot fool all the people all the time.
This is high time that proper action is taken to restrain political workers not to indulge in activities of creating unrest, chaos, violence and disruption of normal life by taking recourse to misplaced ideologies in the so called name of religion to create divide among the people. If all other political parties start resorting to these sort of divisive and disruptive activities, then the entire environment would become highly vitiated and counterproductive.
We have to and would oppose such moves of BJP very strongly in order to keep secular character of the country as enshrined in our constitution.
I appeal to all the people of the country and the state to give a befitting reply to hatred politics and show respect to our country’s glorious culture and heritage.
Let us all be proud of our culture and heritage.
Jai Hind, Jai Bangla, Joyo He"
The slogan 'Jai Shree Ram' has been a hotly debated issue in West Bengal in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections 2019. BJP accused West Bengal government of preventing people from chanting the slogan.
BJP president Amit Shah had even challenged Mamata Banerjee to arrest him for saying 'Jai Shree Ram'
Watch | This what people have to say over 'Jai Shree Ram' controversy in West Bengal
