West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee pays tribute

Plan to turn Bengal into Gujarat

to iconic Bengali reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar in Kolkata on Tuesday after the installation of his new bust at the college bearing his name, where an old one was vandalised during a roadshow of BJP chief Amit Shah in May.

A day after West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah about the ‘ground realities in the state’, chief minister Mamata Banerjee accused him of blowing incidents of political violence out of proportion in New Delhi. She, however, asserted that she has respect for the post but not for his reported “inflation of the death toll.”

The Trinamul supremo’s unprecedented attack on the governor came on Tuesday at an event in Hare School on College Street where she unveiled a new bust of Bengali polymath Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, which was vandalised at Vidyasagar College in an alleged attack by armed BJP workers during Mr Shah’s mega roadshow.

“Last night, two Muslims were murdered. At Galsi, one lost his life. Before that, Nirmal Kundu was killed. Even in Dinhata our party worker was hacked to death. Ten people have lost their lives due to post-poll violence so far. But the governor told them (Mr Modi and Mr Shah) that 12 men were killed,” she claimed.

“Bengal is being defamed. If you want to save Bengal and its culture come together. A plan is being hatched to turn Bengal into Gujarat. Bengal is not Gujarat and Gujarat is not Bengal. I love the people of Gujarat. Let them maintain their tradition. Let us maintain ours,” Ms Banerjee added.