Sudhanshu Trivedi slams Bengal CM Mamata over Durga Puja song, links it to Rahul Gandhi's 'Shakti' remark

New Delhi, Sep 27 (IANS) BJP National Spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi, on Saturday, accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and INDIA bloc leaders of insulting Hindu sentiments during the Navratri festival, targeting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for attending a Durga Puja pandal where a controversial song was played.

Addressing the media at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Trivedi said that while the entire nation is celebrating Navratri with devotion, "certain leaders of the INDIA bloc alliance are revealing their true mindset".

He alleged that the song "Jaldi mujhe le chalo, mere dil mein hai Kaaba aur mere mann mein hai Madina" was played inside a Durga Puja pandal in Chief Minister Banerjee's presence, which he described as an affront to Hindu faith.

The BJP leader linked the incident to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's earlier statement that "we have to fight against Shakti".

"It appears that the INDIA bloc has begun its assault on Hindu faith right from the festival of Navratri," he charged.

Citing a recent controversy in Karnataka, where the Congress government invited a Booker award-winning Muslim author to inaugurate the world-famous Mysuru Dasara festivities, Trivedi said the pattern shows "deliberate appeasement".

"There is nothing wrong if anyone's heart has Kaaba or eyes see Madina, but why should such songs be performed inside a Durga Puja pandal, that too with the Chief Minister clapping along?" he asked.

Trivedi also alleged that during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to West Bengal on Friday, his posters were removed and replaced with those of CM Mamata Banerjee near a pandal he was scheduled to attend.

He further claimed that a pandal themed on “Operation Sindoor” was forcibly shut down and denied government subsidy.

"West Bengal has a special place for Durga Puja in its cultural and religious identity. By encouraging such acts, Mamata Banerjee is showing disregard and contempt for Hindu traditions," Trivedi said, demanding that CM Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi clarify their parties' "real intent".

--IANS

sas/khz