Mamata condemns Centre’s decision to observe June 25 as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Divas’
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the BJP, saying those who don’t respect the Constitution are now talking about upholding its morality
Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday condemned the Centre’s decision to observe June 25, the day the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government imposed the Emergency in 1975, as the ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Divas’, slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying “those who don’t respect the Constitution are now talking about upholding its morality”.
“I have objections. I totally condemn the idea of observing Samvidhaan Hatya Divas. I am sorry it is a matter of shame. Let them observe. We will not observe,” Banerjee told media persons at the state secretariat.
“Every day they (BJP) are slaughtering democracy, violating fundamental rights of citizens, bulldozing the federal structure and intimidating the media. A fake religion is being imposed upon the people. Those who don’t respect the Constitution are now talking about upholding its morality. In that case we would have to observe murder of democracy every day,” she added.
“You may fight with Rahul Gandhi as he is in the opposition. But there are multiple political parties which are 25 to 30 years old. They were not there during the Emergency. Did you take their opinion?” she asked.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo accused the BJP of topping the democratically elected governments in Maharashtra and Bihar.
“Who is the nation’s Prime Minister? Is it Narendra Modi or Amit Shah? Modi ji is visiting other countries leaving everything to Shah. So why not declare him (Shah) as the Prime Minister? Practically, he is running the country. He has demolished all the systems and is doing whatever the party is saying,” she added.
The chief minister upped her ante against the BJP-led Centre over the recent plane crash in Ahmedabad.
“People’s lives are in danger. Every day they are boarding flights, then asked to deboard. No one knows how many have been killed in the crash. Junior doctors in the hostel were killed along with many people who used to go to that area for work. Some bureaucrats are probing into the incident. Not a single FIR has been lodged till date,” she said.
She also slammed the BJP over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, One Nation–One Election, violence in Manipur and the 2016 demonetization.
She further said, “No special session was held in Parliament after the Pahalgam attack. The TMC raised five questions but never received any answers. The nation wants to know how the terrorists entered and where they are now.”
She also said that names of freedom fighters and historical facts were being distorted through films. “In a film Khudiram Bose had been depicted as Khudiram Singh. Prafulla Chaki has been given another name in the film. Aren’t you ashamed?”
Police said that a complaint has been lodged with the Bidhannagar city police against the film Kesari Chapter 2, currently streaming on Jio Hotstar, in which the complainant alleged that historical facts related to West Bengal’s freedom struggle have been distorted.
She also slammed the BJP and the Centre for celebrating the statehood day of West Bengal on June 20. The state legislative assembly had, however, passed a resolution in 2023 declaring the first day of the Bengali calendar, Poila Baisakh, the statehood day and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s song ‘Banglar Mati Banglar Jol’ as the state’s anthem.
“I condemn this too. Every state has the right to declare its own statehood day and have its own emblem,” she said.
The BJP hit back at Banerjee saying that the party will observe Samvidhaan Hatya Divas.
“Banerjee has woken up from her slumber very late. The BJP will observe Samvidhaan Hatya Divas on June 25. We felicitate people who were imprisoned during the Emergency. We will do it this time too. She is not equivalent to West Bengal,” Suvendu Adhikari, BJP legislator and leader of the opposition in the state legislative party, told media persons.
“When the BJP comes to power in West Bengal, we will celebrate June 20 as the statehood day,” said Adhikari.
