The BJP raised its Hindutva pitch to counter Mamata Banerjee's alleged appeasement of the minority community in her Eid address on Monday, while the CPM and the Congress criticised the chief minister and the saffron camp for what they called the politics of polarisation for electoral benefits.
Mamata and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee spoke during Eid prayers on Red Road in Calcutta and accused the BJP of fomenting communal tensions and asked people to be cautious about provocations.
The BJP activated its entire leadership to accuse the Trinamool Congress chairperson of attempting to disrupt communal harmony in the state.
"What kind of provocative speech did you deliver at the Red Road on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr? You uttered the words 'Danga' & Riots more than you repeated the word Eid," leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari wrote on his X social media handle by posting a clipping from Mamata's Eid address.
"Was it a religious event or a political programme? Why were you deliberately mongering hate with the deliberate intention of creating animosity between communities? Ms. Mamata Banerjee, you are the one who weaponizes religion. It will boomerang on you very soon," he added.
Mamata’s Eid speech and the BJP’s counterattacks assume significance at a time when the saffron ecosystem is planning a grand celebration of Ram Navami on April 6.
A source in the state BJP said Mamata’s Eid speech had given the party a fresh opportunity to highlight what it called her Muslim appeasement policy before Hindu voters, whom the saffron camp sought to consolidate.
"Whatever the chief minister said from her Red Road address was enough to awaken Hindu voters in the state, showing how the TMC is busy appeasing Muslims at the cost of compromising the security of the majority Hindu community," said a state BJP leader.
At a rally held in Nadia later in the day, Adhikari sharpened his attack on the ruling party. "Trinamool will be banned in Hindu localities," he said.
BJP's Bengal minder Amit Malviya took to social media to attack the chief minister.
"She must first ensure the safety of Hindus in West Bengal and put an end to the targeting of their religious festivals. Mamata Banerjee must abandon any illusions of turning Bengal into Bangladesh—such a dream will never materialize," Malviya wrote on X.
"In 2026, Bengal will rise against her oppressive rule and dismantle her crumbling regime. Her time in power is running out," he added.
The CPM and the Congress, however, accused both the TMC and the BJP of playing the communal card for their political interests — one targeting minority votes and the other Hindus.
"On Ram Navami, we will witness how the TMC and the BJP unite under the banner of the RSS to promote violence and hatred. Our chief minister shamelessly defended the communal riots in Hooghly and Howrah during last year’s Ram Navami celebrations. Now, from the Eid prayer venue, she is blaming the Left," said CPM state committee secretary Md. Salim.
Almost echoing Salim, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said: "Both the RSS and the I-Pac (which works for the TMC) have been planning jointly to create communal tensions in the state. The two outfits are doing polarisation politics for the BJP and the TMC, respectively."
The TMC and the Mamata Banerjee government believe that the BJP will try to create communal tensions using the platform of Ram Navami celebrations in the state. As a precaution, state police have issued a directive to closely monitor the movement of the Ram Navami marches.
Authorities remain vigilant after experiencing violent incidents in at least three locations during last year’s Ram Navami celebrations.
The BJP, on the other hand, accused the Mamata administration of resisting Ram Navami celebrations across the state to woo minority voters.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said: "For years, religious celebrations have taken place in the state without issue. But it is the BJP that is trying to weaponise religious events like Ram Navami for political gain. We condemn such attempts to create tensions in the name of religion in a state like Bengal, where we promote pluralism and brotherhood."