Bengal’s two biggest political rivals came out with Bengali New Year processions on Tuesday, both claiming to uphold the state’s culture and accusing the other of insulting it.
The Trinamul Congress organised a rally from Girish Park to Jorasanko. The BJP’s procession began from Subodh Mullick Square at Wellington and culminated close to Swami Vivekananda’s home on Simla Street.
The BJP rally had tableaux protesting the RG Kar rape and murder, the mass termination of school jobs and the long wait of state government employees for a dearness allowance commensurate with those working for the Central government.
Dilip Ghosh, former state chief of the BJP, was among the leaders in the rally. Ghosh’s party is desperate to shed its bohiragawto (outsider) label in Bengal.
On Tuesday, he turned the tables by accusing the ruling party of banking on “outsiders” to represent Bengalis.
“The state’s condition is worsening. There is a concerted effort to rob Bengalis of their Bengali identity. Those who raise slogans about Bengali identity have brought in Yusuf Pathan from Gujarat and made him a representative of Bengalis. They brought in Kirti Azad and Shatrughan Sinha from Bihar, made them represent Bengalis and sent them to Delhi,” he told reporters.
Pathan, the Behrampore MP, has drawn widespread flak for an “insensitive” social media post at a time when communal unrest has claimed lives in Murshidabad.
“Easy afternoons, good chai and calm surroundings. Just soaking in the moment,” the former cricketer posted on Instagram on Friday along with three photos of himself sipping tea.
Behrampore is a Lok Sabha constituency in Murshidabad district. Behrampore town is Murshidabad’s
district headquarters.
Ghosh said on Tuesday: “We have sent the likes of Shantanu Thakur, Sukanta Majumdar, Saumitra Khan and Abhijit Gangopadhyay to Delhi. They are our representatives. Look at Trinamool’s representatives. Trinamool doesn’t want dhaak-er awaj (drum beats) and the sound of conch shells in Bengal.”
The beats of dhaak, women performing traditional dance, men carrying palanquins and walking on stilts — the rally was peppered with “local flavour”.
Samik Bhattacharya and Rahul Sinha were among the other BJP leaders who were part of the rally.
The Trinamool Mahila Congress organised a colourful procession from Girish Park to Jorasanko Thakurbari.
The women wore traditional red-and-white saris and blew conch shells as they walked.
Bengal’s finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, walking at the front of the rally, echoed chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s commitment to amity.
“Today is the beginning of 1432. On this auspicious day, we want to show our respect to everyone, cutting across the barriers of religion, caste, creed and politics. Our leader, Mamata Banerjee, has already shared her message for everyone on this occasion. We are following in her footsteps,” she said.
Asked about the violence in Murshidabad, Bhattacharya said: “It seems pre-planned, designed in the run-up to the elections.”
When Metro sought a reaction from her about Ghosh’s comments, Bhattacharya said: “I don’t want to get into politics today. Let people say whatever they want. Bengal is home to everyone. Here, people live together, setting aside their differences. That is the Bengali culture. That is the spirit that we are celebrating.”
If politicians were busy, common people did their bit as well.
A procession began at Sukanta Setu and walked till Jodhpur Park Surya Sen Mancha.
The theme was “save nature; preserve amity”. Many children were part of the
rally. Some walked with banners. One read: “Banbibir ahobhan, baachuk Hindu Musalman (Ban-bibi calls for the well-being of Hindus and Muslims)”.
Ban-bibi is a local legend of the Sunderbans, worshipped by Hindus and Muslims alike.
“We bring out this procession every year. Communal amity is a constant theme,” said Soma Chanda, secretary of Mangal Sobhayatra, the organisation behind the procession.