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TMC leader questions PM’s ‘enthusiasm’ to link Tagore to Gujarat
His comments came hours after the Prime Minister addressed the centenary year celebration of Visva Bharati university in Shantiniketan, West Bengal. The university was founded by Tagore.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Bratya Basu criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for linking Rabindranath Tagore to his home state Gujarat, saying “the great Bard” was a universal poet.
“Rabindranath Tagore is a ‘viswakavi’ (universal poet). Then why is the Prime Minister so enthused on establishing his (Tagore’s) links with the state of Gujarat. It’s unfair to limit the great bard’s relevance to a particular region,” said Basu.
His comments came hours after the Prime Minister addressed the centenary year celebration of Visva Bharati university in Shantiniketan, West Bengal. The university was founded by Tagore.
The TMC leader also took a jibe at the Prime Minister when he said that despite talking of India’s acceptance, Modi could not practice the same, citing examples of cow vigilantism and asking if the PM could take responsibility for that.
“PM claimed ‘visva’ means universal & is trying to apply that in context of acceptance in India. But can he practice this spirit of acceptance? What about cow vigilantees who beat people to death. Can he take responsibility for their actions as he preaches?” he said.
Tensions between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the TMC are boiling over ahead of the crucial West Bengal assembly elections scheduled to be held during Apri-May next year. The BJP has been trying very hard to gain a strong foothold in the state’s politics. Many BJP leaders have claimed that the party will defeat TMC in next year’s Assembly election.
The party won 19 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections and have even snatched one of TMC’s most prominent ex-leaders, Suvendu Adhikari. Union home minister and former BJP chief Amit Shah has scheduled several campaign rallies in the state in the months leading up to the election.
