Mamata Banerjee on Monday expressed outrage at US president Donald Trump’s mispronunciation of Swami Vivekananda’s name during his visit to India last week, holding the BJP responsible for bringing such “shame” to the nation by allegedly diluting the legacies of icons.

The Bengal chief minister, during an address at a Trinamul Congress event at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here, tore into the BJP over the “sinking” honour of the country with such blunders.

“Because of them (the BJP), the honour of the nation sinking. They, who had smashed a statue of Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, remember?” she asked, referring to the May 15 incident at Vidyasagar College last year, when a bust of the polymath was smashed.

“Even Vivekananda’s name is being pronounced wrong. He is our nation’s icon. But I don’t blame Trump for it. It is our fault, we haven’t been able to explain properly, were unable to teach the correct pronunciation of Vivekananda,” she said.

At the Namaste Trump event in the Motera stadium, Ahmedabad, on February 24, the US president had referred to the “great religious teacher Swami Viveka… munnan”.

Vivekananda is one of the many icons of pre-Independence India that the saffron camp has been trying to appropriate.

“We couldn’t teach him the pronunciation of Vivekananda, we couldn’t explain the importance of his legacy. That is why Gandhiji is being forgotten, Vivekananda’s name is being mispronounced,” Mamata added. “Is it not our insult? Is it not a shame to the country?”

But the chief minister spared Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had called the US president “Dolund” Trump at the same Motera event.