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‘Who said I do not respect my religion?’: CM Mamata Banerjee responds to ‘Mrityu Kumbh’ remark
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that while religion is a personal matter, religious festivals are for everyone to enjoy.
Amid the backlash over her remark calling the Maha Kumbh ‘Mrityu Kumbh,’ West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that she respects all religions and cultures.
She also added that while religion is a personal matter, religious festivals are for everyone to enjoy.
“Who said I do not respect my religion? Remember, religion belongs to an individual but festivals are for all. In our country, we have several states and each of them has different languages, education, cultures and beliefs. But we respect all cultures and that is why unity in diversity is our philosophy and ideology,” she said.
Banerjee made the statement while addressing a programme following the foundation stone-laying ceremony of Narayana Health City in Newtown.
“Sometimes people ask me whether you are a man or a woman and I reply that I consider myself as a human being and humanity is my subject,” Mamata Banerjee said.
Earlier on Tuesday, while addressing the state assembly, Banerjee criticised the Uttar Pradesh government for its handling of the ongoing Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj, calling the event a “Mrityu Kumbh” due to the lives lost in stampede incidents.
She had also accused the authorities of concealing the death toll.
However, the BJP has since launched attacks on the chief minister over her remarks.
Meanwhile, Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati Maharaj, commenting on Mamata Banerjee's ‘Mrityu Kumbh’ remark, said that if the ‘Maha Kumbh Mela’ is criticised amid ‘mismanagement and deaths, we cannot oppose it.’
The seer condemned the grand religious event, pointing out that the water in which devotees bathe is contaminated with sewage, making it unfit for bathing according to scientists. He remarked, “Yet, you are compelling crores of people to bathe in it.”
He questioned the administration over the absence of clean water, suggesting that they should have either stopped the drains for a few days or diverted them to ensure “people could bathe in pure water.”
