On the day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi consecrated Ram Lalla’s idol in Ram Mandir, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee courted another controversy for giving an allegedly inciting speech.
Addressing the gathering at Park Circus Maidan, she issued a stern warning to those who support or vote for BJP. She said, “Ek bat yaad rakhna, BJP ko madad mat karna, BJP ko agar tum log madad karoge koi to Allah ki kasam aap logo ko koi mafi nhi karega hum to mafi nhi karenge.” (Translated – Do remember one thing, don’t support/assist/vote for BJP. I am swearing on Allah if you help/assist BJP, nobody would forgive you, let alone me.)
In her address at Circus Maidan during ‘Sarv Dharm Sambhav’ rally, she also reportedly said, “Jo Kafir hain, woh darte hain, Jo ladte hain, woh jeet te hain.”
Taking to X, popular X user Ankur Singh highlighted the controversial remarks and asked, “How Mamata Banerjee is inciting Muslims after Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha?”
"Jo Kafir hain, woh darte hain"
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) January 22, 2024
"Jo ladte hain, woh jeet te hain"
How Mamata Banerjee is inciting Muslims after Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha. pic.twitter.com/1CxFT9mybK
Kafir is a pejorative jibe used by Islamists to refer to anyone who doesn’t believe in Islam, polytheists, and idol worshippers even calling for direct harm (annihilation of their existence).
However, this is not the first time that West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has used the pejorative term. In May 2022, a video of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee went viral on social media where she was addressing the crowd on the occasion of Eid. During her address, she said something that sounded like ‘Kafir’. She said, “Let them do what they want. We are not scared. We are not cowards. We are not ‘Kafir’ [possibly]. We fight. We know how to fight. We will fight against them. We will finish them.”
Netizens were in disbelief as the video went viral. Many expressed their concern over a sitting CM using the word in a public address. Interestingly, Banerjee, who prefers to speak in Bangla most of the time, gave the statement in Hindi that also added to the speculations that she allegedly wanted to give a message to those who “do not speak Bangla”.
Several netizens have pointed this out. Though it is unclear what the West Bengal CM said during her address, she has a history of making controversial statements. Not to forget, during state elections, she used the slogan “Khela Hobe“, which was commemorated on Direct Action Day. Given such history, no one should be surprised if she used the word ‘kafir’ and said, ‘we are not cowards and know how to fight’.
