Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday devoted over half of her 84-minute address in the Assembly to substantiate her Hindu-friendliness and said she would write to Narendra Modi against the BJP’s charge that she was a terrorist.
The chief minister said she would resign if her terror links, alleged by the leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, were proven.
“They have accused me of harbouring hatred for Hinduism and favouring the (pre-Independence) Muslim League. Do I have to now bear listening to all this after a lifetime of so much struggle? They have said I have links with terrorists of Jammu and Kashmir, and even Bangladesh!” she told the House in a speech that was televised live.
“I now say this in front of the people of Bengal, if they (the BJP) can prove it, I will leave my post of chief minister. Being the leader of the Opposition, you made this statement on record. I will write to the Prime Minister about your allegation… and if I am indeed a terrorist, the Prime Minister must inform me,” added Mamata, apparently outraged at being accused of terror ties. “You are linking me with terrorists. Even death is better than this!”
Sources on the Treasury benches admitted to the saffron camp managing to get under Mamata’s skin ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections with the narrative that she was against Hindus, more so in the wake of the Bangladesh turmoil.
The sources pointed to lengths to which the chief minister went to explain how very Hindu her parents and the household she grew up in were and how she upheld the religion, its practices and values — replete with worship, prayers, rituals and allied paraphernalia – in her own daily life.
“Freedom of speech doesn’t mean one can baselessly attack, insult others, make hate speech, incite, provoke people on communal grounds,” said Mamata, demanding answers on who gave the BJP — or the likes of Adhikari in it — the stewardship of all of Hinduism and Hindus, and called them bokdharmik (sanctimonious hypocrites).
“You are using a particular religion as a plank, and peddling it for personal gains…. We respect all religions and we have identified the path from Ramakrishna Paramahansa. We believe in shorbo dhormo somonnoy (harmony between all religions),” she added.
The chief minister accused the BJP of being secretly in an understanding with Muslim outfits — without naming them, she meant the AIMIM and the ISF — to erode the vote share of political opponents in various states.
“Should I burst that balloon? Before saying something, think twice. If you keep spewing utter nonsense, the people will teach you a fitting lesson, democratically, we don’t have to do anything at all,” she said.
“You keep making outlandish, hateful statements about a particular religion. If they call for a major protest movement now, will you be able to handle it?” asked Mamata.
While underscoring how she could not possibly allow a third of Bengal’s people to suffer or be discriminated against simply because of their religious identity, Mamata highlighted much of what she had done for Hinduism in her time as chief minister.
She listed her contributions to the development of Hindu places of worship or places associated with major figures of the religion, or its festivals — such as Tarapith, Dakshineswar, Kalighat, Kankalitala, the Madanmohan temple, the under-constructions Jagannath temple, Swami Vivekananda, Sister Nivedita, or the Gangasagar Mela. She also pointed out how — contrary to saffron claims — all Hindu festivals take place abundantly, on a grand scale in Bengal, alongside those of other religions, in keeping with the ethos of the state.
“Yet they say I am Muslim League?” she wondered aloud.
“How many Muslims live in Bengal? …. Approximately, 30-33 per cent. Do you mean to say that one-third of Bengal’s children will not eat, study, work, thrive, or live with dignity? We have to corner them and beat them up, is that what you mean? If I say everyone ought to peacefully coexist, is that so very wrong?” asked Mamata.
