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‘Poll gimmick, outsiders’: TMC’s jibes at Amit Shah after lunch with refugee family and statue faux pas
As the Trinamool Congress criticised Amit Shah’s scheduled visit to the Matua family, the ruling party in West Bengal described his refugee community outreach, saying it was a “poll gimmick” to divert attention from atrocities committed on backward communities in states ruled by the BJP.
Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress party on Friday cornered Union home minister Amit Shah over his visit to a refugee family for lunch and a controversy over the statue of a tribal leader during his two-day visit to the state ahead of the assembly elections next year.
State minister Firhad Hakim took a jibe at Shah over his lunch on Friday at a Matua family’s residence in Baguihati in Kolkata’s northern fringes and said it was a desperate attempt to fool people. “In all BJP-ruled states, tribals, Dalits and those from the backward communities are being tortured. There are reports of atrocities everywhere. So, this drama of having lunch at the house of a person from the Matua community is nothing but a poll gimmick before the assembly elections. But he can’t people fool every time, and the Matuas are very well aware of the BJP’s double standards,” Hakim said, according to news agency PTI.
The Matuas, originally from East Pakistan which is now Bangladesh, had been migrating to West Bengal since the 1950s, mostly due to religious persecution. The community, with an estimated population of three million in the state, influences at least four Lok Sabha seats and 40 assembly seats in Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas districts. PTI cited sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as saying that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which was passed in Parliament last year, is likely to help several refugee communities such as the Matuas to obtain citizenship of the country.
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The TMC also slammed Shah over his “appeasement remark” and said communal politics has no place in Bengal. As it criticised Shah’s scheduled visit to the Matua family, the ruling party in West Bengal described his refugee community outreach, saying it was a “poll gimmick” to divert attention from atrocities committed on backward communities in states ruled by the BJP.
“What does Amit Shah mean by appeasement politics? Was he speaking as a BJP activist or as the Union Home Minister of the country? The government has to treat all communities with equality and respect. I don’t think it is a crime to do something for the development of minorities in the state,” Sougato Roy, a senior TMC leader, said.
Roy also asked why Shah had ignored the fact that the TMC government had allowed Durga Puja celebrations even when many BJP-ruled states cancelled it. “Why is he not speaking about the state government’s decision to allow Durga Puja celebrations? Was it minority appeasement? I would want to say that communalism has no place in West Bengal. The people of the state will reject BJP’s divisive politics,” he added. Roy was referring to Shah’s comment earlier in the day when said that the present “appeasement politics” in the state has hurt its age-old tradition of upholding the nation’s spiritual consciousness.
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Before that, the ruling party in Bengal had taken a jibe at Shah after he garlanded a statue of a general tribal hunter in Bankura district on Thursday. The Union minister was supposed to honour Birsa Munda, the legendary tribal leader who had fought for India’s independence and was killed at 25. According to reports, tribal leaders pointed out to the BJP that the statue was not of Birsa Munda after which party leaders put Munda’s photo at the foot of the statue. “Paid floral tributes to legendary tribal leader Bhagwan Birsa Mundaji in Bankura, West Bengal today. Birsa Mundaji’s life was dedicated to the rights and upliftment of our tribal sisters and brothers. His courage, struggles and sacrifices continue to inspire...” Shah had tweeted on Thursday.
The Trinamool Congress tweeted about the incident. “Bohiragato’ are at it again! Union Home Minister Amit Shah is so ignorant of Bengal’s culture that he insulted Bhagwan Birsa Munda by garlanding a wrong idol and placed his photo at someone else’s foot. Will he ever respect Bengal?” the TMC posted on Twitter.
“From Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar to Birsa Munda, what is this blatant disrespect towards Bengal’s legendary icons, Amit Shahji? How many more times will you misuse Bengal’s culture and heritage for your political propaganda?” Trinamool lawmaker Nusrat Jahan also tweeted over the garlanding incident. She was referring to the Birsa Munda issue and the vandalisation of 19th-century reformer Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar’s statue allegedly by BJP workers before Lok Sabha polls last year.
Shah, who had played a major role in expanding the BJP’s base during his tenure as its national president in 2018, is in the state drum up support for the Bengal assembly elections in 2021. The BJP has eight seats in the state assembly. It also has the support of eight MLAs who had switched over to the party from the TMC after the 2019 general election.
(With agency inputs)
