Mamata Banerjee has tried to diminish the edge of Jai Sia Ram controversy that has erupted soon after BJP won a landslide mandate in 2019 General Elections. She has now said that her opposition to Jai Sia Ram is due to the way that BJP is using it to settle scores. Here is the full statement that Mamata Banerjee issued:
‘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’
