Mamata government to observe death anniversary of Syama Prasad Mookerjee
Kolkata, June 22: For the first time, West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee government has decided to observe the death anniversary of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee on Saturday, triggering a political storm in the state.
While the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) saw this as yet another instance of the "collusion" between the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the latter said the Mamata Banerjee government was seeing the ghost of BJP everywhere.
The BJS is regarded as the precursor of the BJP.
West Bengal ministers Firhad Hakim and Sovandeb Chattopadhyay would attend the programme before Mookerjee's bust at south Kolkata's Keoratala crematorium, according to the formal invite issued by the Information and Cultural Affairs Department.
"It is our tradition to pay respect to great personalities. We believe in that culture," said Trinamool leader and Kolkata Municipal Corporation chairperson Mala Roy.
The bust was vandalised by a group of Left radicals in March in protest against the pulling down of two statues of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin in Tripura, allegedly by the BJP-RSS activists.
The Banerjee government arrested the Left radicals and installed a new bronze bust of the late leader.
"The bronze bust will be unveiled on Saturday. We will pay our respects then," said Roy.
Chattopadhyay said Mookerjee would never have approved the BJP's communal agenda for the sake of getting political mileage.
"The way BJP is bringing religion into the political arena, and indulging in the politics of polarisation to create an atmosphere of hatred, and gain political mileage, I don't think Syama Prasad would have approved all this," he said.
BJP leader Pratap Banerjee was sarcastic.
"Mamata Banerjee is seeing the ghost of BJP everywhere. This is the reason they have suddenly turned big admirers of Syama Prasad," he said.
CPI-M leader Chayan Bhattacharya slammed the Trinamool.
"We never had any doubt about some understanding between the BJP and the Trinamool. The state government indirectly fans communalism. This has come into the open now."
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Borders peaceful as Pak fears PM Modi: Amit Shah in J-K
Mendhar (J-K) (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said there is peace along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir as Pakistan fears Prime Minister Narendra Modi and would dare to open fire.
Shah was addressing an election rally in this border area in the Union territory's Poonch district in support of BJP candidate Murtaza Khan.
He lauded the BJP-led Centre for wiping out terrorism by replacing guns and stones in the hands of youngsters with laptops and said his government would not allow guns to resonate in the hills of Jammu region.
"We will construct more bunkers along the borders for the safety of the people. I want to remind you of cross-border firings in the 1990s… Is cross-border firing happening today?
"It is because the earlier rulers here were frightened of Pakistan, but now, Pakistan fears Modi. They would not dare to fire but if they did, they would be given a befitting reply," Shah said.
The BJP leader is on a three-day tour and is scheduled to address four more election rallies in Surankote in Poonch, Thanamandi and Rajouri in Rajouri district and Akhnoor in Jammu district.
Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir are taking place for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh -- in August 2019.
The first phase of polling was held on September 18. The second phase will be held on September 25, followed by the third and final phase on October 1. The election results will be declared on October 8.
