Bengal CM Mamata meets Hindi-speaking people, urges them to elect TMC
Banerjee’s move was described as significant by party leaders since she has branded the BJP’s central leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minster Amit Shah, both of whom hail from Gujarat, as “outsiders”.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday directly appealed to people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and other states to vote for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and campaign against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the assembly polls due in March-April.
“I have always accepted people who speak Hindi, Punjabi and other languages as our brothers. Have any of you ever faced any problem in Bengal? I never differentiated between languages and regional backgrounds. Support us and we will take care of you as always,” Banerjee said at the TMC headquarters in Kolkata while addressing members of communities who speak Hindi or other regional languages. They were invited to the TMC office for the first time. Senior leaders, including TMC youth wing president Abhishek Banerjee, were present.
Banerjee’s move was described as significant by party leaders since she has branded the BJP’s central leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minster Amit Shah, both of whom hail from Gujarat, as “outsiders”.
On Thursday, Banerjee accused the BJP of creating a divide between Bengalis and non-Bengalis. “First they tried to split Hindus and Muslims. Now they are creating a divide between Bengalis and non-Bengalis. We have always believed in humanity and not divisions,” she said.
Bengal has a sizeable number of Bihari voters who are mainly based in Kolkata and the districts of North 24 Parganas and West Burdwan. People from Punjab and Gujarat have also been living in Bengal for centuries. Bengal sends out millions of migrant workers while many Bengali families have permanently settled in other states.
Last year, Banerjee announced that a Hindi language university will be set up by the TMC government. She has also revamped the party’s Hindi cell that was set up by Barrackpore Lok Sabha member Arjun Singh before he joined the BJP in 2019 and retained the seat.
Last year, Banerjee also announced two state holidays during Chhath Puja, a popular religious festival in Bihar and the Hindi heartland. “Has anybody else done that? Nobody asked for it. I did it on my own. I am setting up the Hindi university so that you can study in Hindi. If I can study in Bengali, why can’t you study in your language? I have given recognition to all regional languages,” she said on Thursday.
Without taking names, Banerjee said that while she manages to speak and read Hindi, some BJP leaders speak the language by reading Gujarati script from teleprompter machines. Banerjee read out a few lines in Hindi and talked of her love for thekua, litti, puri and similar snacks popular in Bihar and other states.
“Virender Ji, the man who drives my car and the man in charge of my security speak Hindi and make the best littis. Have faith in Didi (as Banerjee is popularly called). This time around, we will win more votes. We will give a befitting reply to those who insult farmers. I want you to give me more votes than Bengali-speaking people,” said Banerjee, referring to the farmers’ agitation and the violence in Delhi several times in her speech.
“Who are they to teach me Hindi? I will hold their ears and teach them Hindi,” said Banerjee who described herself as a “street fighter.” She even read out a Hindi sentence in front of the audience that applauded intermittently.
Former minister Suvendu Adhikari, who joined the BJP on December 19, held a massive roadshow at Arambagh in Hooghly district on Thursday afternoon.
Reacting to Banerjee’s bid to reach out to Hindi-speaking voters he said, “She is free to address anyone. Ask her why she calls Hindi-speaking people outsiders. The BJP does not do that.”
“People from all regions are my family. I made Rajiva Sinha, a Bihari, our chief secretary. Virendra, our director general of police, is from Haryana. We have so many officers from Bihar. They are doing good work. If i live with you all the time why should there be divisions during the election? You divide yourself in groups and campaign against the BJP in every neighbourhood. This is one promise I want you to make. Tell me that you will carry out this campaign while I tour the districts. After the elections I will take care of you,” Banerjee told the audience.
Incidentally, Bhawanipore, Banerjee's assembly constituency in south Kolkata, has a sizeable number of Hindi and Punjabi speaking voters. Analysis of the last Lok Sabha poll results showed that the TMC was trailing in one of the civic body areas in Bhawanipore.