‘Bengal isn’t UP’: Mamata Banerjee on Dilip Ghosh’s ‘shot like dogs’ remark

Mamata Banerjee reminded Dilip Ghosh that Bengal wasn’t like BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh.

Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday lashed out at the BJP’s state unit chief Dilip Ghosh after he commented that those damaging government properties were killed “like dogs” in states ruled by his party.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that Dilip Ghosh’s comment on anti-CAA protesters being shot was shameful. (ANI)

In a terse response, Banerjee said “Bengal is not Uttar Pradesh”.

“It’s shameful. How can you say this? It’s a shame to even take his name. You’re promoting firing. This isn’t UP. Here firing won’t happen. Understand that if tomorrow something untoward happens, you’ll be equally responsible. You want to kill people for protesting?” ANI quoted Banerjee as saying.

Ghosh’s comments came when he was addressing a gathering of party supporters at Ranaghat in Nadia district after a rally in support of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Sunday.

His remarks were so incendiary that even BJP leaders distanced themselves form them

Around two dozen people have been killed in violence in anti-CAA protests in Uttar Pradesh last month and five died in Assam, including three in police firing. Both states are ruled by the BJP.

The CAA facilitates Indian citizenship for non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.

On Sunday, at the Belur Math in Howrah, Modi said that the CAA was only an amendment for those persecuted in Pakistan and not about taking away the citizenship of any Indian. He also blamed the opposition for “misguiding” the youth to protest against the law.

The CAA has sparked widespread protests across many places in the country on grounds that it is discriminatory, divisive and unconstitutional.