Kolkata: Condemning the incident of a statue of Communist revolutionary Lenin being taken down in Tripura, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, the kind of “divisive politics” that is vandalising Lenin’s statue today, will soon target those of Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and Swami Vivekananda.
“My ideology may differ with the CPI(M) but I will not tolerate it if someone tries to destroy the statues of leaders like Lenin. It is unfortunate that BJP leaders, instead of thinking about Tripura's development, are indulging in violence. They only believe in divisive politics,” Mamata said, while addressing a public meeting in Bankura district.
A statue of Communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Lenin, was brought down by alleged BJP supporters, using a JCB amid chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'. The statue stood at the center of College Square in the heart of Belonia town in South Tripura.
“What kind of politics is this? Today they are pulling down Lenin’s statue, tomorrow they will do the same with Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda and Birsa Muda’s statue. Till the time I am alive, I will not tolerate this and will continue to protest against these practices.”
Throwing a challenge at the BJP, the Trinamool Congress chief said, “If they have the guts, let them fight politically.”
Banerjee even targeted BJP President Amit Shah, who, after winning the Tripura elections had said that the party’s golden era would only start when they would win Bengal and Odisha.
“All of us are aware of the money power they use to win the states. A senior leader is saying that the party’s next target is West Bengal, I would like to tell him that my next target is Delhi,” the Bengal chief minister said.
“When we came to power in Bengal, we never indulged in such violence because our slogan was ‘Badla Noy... Bodol Chai’ (Not Revenge… We Want Change). We should not hurt people’s sentiments by damaging the statues of leaders.”
Mamata’s statement on Lenin comes day after the saffron brigade allegedly bulldozed the statue apart from several incidents of arson, forcible donations, loot and clashes being reported in the state.
While CPI(M) leaders alleged that they fear they’ll be killed by the saffron brigade, BJP leaders rubbished these allegations and claimed that CPI(M) cadres disguised as BJP workers were involved in ransacking Lenin’s statute and the clashes.
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