Hitting out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over Friday’s incident where she refused to go to the dais amid chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram by a section of suspected BJP supporters during the inauguration of the Vande Bharat Express at Howrah station, the BJP on Saturday challenged the ruling TMC government in the state to bring a Bill in the Assembly to ban “Jai Sri Ram” chants.
“In our country, one is free to chant Vande Mataram and Jai Shri Ram. The law allows it. Why is Mamata Banerjee getting riled up if someone chants Jai Shri Ram? If she has a problem listening to such chants, then her government should introduce a Bill in the Assembly to ban the chanting of Jai Shri Ram. The British had banned chanting of Vande Mataram in the country. Now, the TMC must ban the chanting of Jai Shri Ram. People would understand their true intention,” BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh told mediapersons on Saturday.
Reacting to Ghosh’s comments, senior TMC leader Tapas Roy said the BJP should stop using the name of Ram for political gains. “One must keep in mind the time and place before indulging in such an act. Everyone should have kept in mind the gravity of the event before chanting the slogan. But what happened was completely different that what is expected out of a government event. The BJP should stop using the name of Ram to indulge in politics,” said Roy.