West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday claimed that West Bengal sees more Chhath Puja than Bihar, highlighting the high population of Biharis in the state. She also emphasised the tradition of Bengal where people from all linguistic, cultural and religious background can co-exist peacefully.
Speaking at Kolkata’s Taktaghat, where scores of devotees gathered to celebrate Chhath Puja, CM Banerjee said, “We love everyone. I don’t believe in any discrimination. I am ready to give my life but I will never do discrimination like some others do.”
She has also penned and composed a special song to mark the occasion of Chhath Puja, which has been played at most of the riverbanks where the festival is being celebrated. Under CM Banerjee, the West Bengal government has declared two days’ holiday for the occasion.
While inaugurating a Jagadhatri Puja as well, she delivered a similar kind of message. “West Bengal is mini-India. Someone can come from Bihar, Madhya Paradesh, Rajasthan or anywhere. But please live peacefully with others and consider Bengal your home.”
This grand official celebration of Chhath Puja, however, represents a gradual shift from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo’s earlier emphasis on Bengali asmita (pride). Time and again, she has also been seen alleging that the non-Bengali population in the West Bengal doesn’t support her and only votes for the “outsider” BJP.
Devotees perform rituals on the bank of river Ganges in Kolkata on the occasion of Chhatt Puja | Salil Bera
Recently, during a Kali Puja inauguration at an area, where a high percentage of non-Bengali population live, in her own Bhabanipur constituency, she claimed that in some booths the TMC got just one vote. Despite giving a message of harmony and co-existence, she said, her party’s bad performance in these areas “affects the goodwill among ourselves”.
Earlier in the year, when CM Banerjee launched an anti-encroachment drive, she blamed “outsiders”. She alleged that some people were trying to destroy Bengal’s identity and that after some time it would be hard to find Bengali speakers in the state.
In June this year, following the TMC's victory in the Maniktala assembly by-elections, numerous party workers on autorickshaws and bikes entered a residential complex, blocked the entrance, and played loud music to disturb the residents.
The party workers claimed that most of the residents were non-Bengalis and did not vote for the TMC. CM Banerjee intervened personally, and under her instruction, senior party leader Kunal Ghosh apologised to the residents.
