West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday afternoon carried out an ‘all-faith’ rally in Kolkata amid the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. During the rally, Banerjee will visit several places of worship representing different religions, including mosques, churches, and gurdwaras.
In a video posted by the TMC's official handle on X(formerly known as Twitter), Banerjee, who began the ‘Sanghati’ march from Hazra More, can be seen walking through a large crowd and greeting people with folded hands. The CM wore her trademark white and blue bordered cotton sari with a shawl wrapped around her neck.
The rally is set to culminate at the Park Circus Maidan later in the day with a mega gathering.
The rally aligns with the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya. Earlier, the CM had declined the invitation to attend the consecration ceremony saying, “The event is a gimmick show before the Lok Sabha polls”. She added that she “does not support festivities that exclude other communities”.
{{/usCountry}}The rally aligns with the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya. Earlier, the CM had declined the invitation to attend the consecration ceremony saying, “The event is a gimmick show before the Lok Sabha polls”. She added that she “does not support festivities that exclude other communities”.
{{/usCountry}}Hitting out at the BJP, Banerjee had said, “It is not our (politicians) job to do 'pran pratishtha'. It is the job of the priests. Our job is to create infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the TMC chief clarified that the all-faith rally is not to counter anyone.
"I am not doing this to counter anyone or protest anything. I have already said religion belongs to individuals but festivals are for all. On January 22, I will first offer prayers to Maa Kali and then lead the rally. It will touch temples, mosques, gurdwaras and churches along its route before reaching Park Circus where a meeting will be held," she told the media.
(With inputs from agencies)