Tagore pride rally lined up- We will not tolerate any contempt of Tagore on Subramanian Swamy’s demand to replace the national anthem: Mamata

TMC supremo asks BJP to do their homework on the inclusive humanism of Tagore, Swamiji, Ambedkar, Birsa

Mamata Banerjee:File Picture

Snehamoy Chakraborty And Meghdeep Bhattacharyya   |   TT   |   Bolpur/Calcutta   |    22.12.20,  :  Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced a “Tagore cultural pride” rally in Bolpur on December 29, a day after the turnout — around 40,000 — at Amit Shah’s road show there drew attention.

Speaking to the media, the chief minister said she would go to Birbhum for a two-day tour from December 28 and take part in the rally on the second day. “Keshto (Birbhum Trinamul chief Anubrata Mondal) and the others will fix everything,” she said.

“It (the rally) will be on how Rabindranath Tagore, his culture is our pride. This will be a movement of the people of the soil,” she added, apparently following up on Mondal’s allegations that most in the home minister’s road show were bohiragawto (outsiders).

Mondal said Mamata would march with party leaders from Dak Bungalow ground to Bolpur Chowrasta, the route of

Shah’s Sunday event. “...We will bring at least two lakh people, all from Bolpur,” he said. “The BJP brought thousands from outside...We will prove we don’t need outsiders.”

Mamata did not spare the jibes. “I need to do elaborate research (on what Shah said about her politics)…ekatmobad (unitarianism), bohutwobad (pluralism), jatibad (racism),” she said sarcastically. “All that, coming from a party that said Tagore was born in Visva-Bharati...Rabindranath is Rabindranath. The pride of Bengal, India, the world,” referring to the BJP Bengal unit’s blunder of attributing a quote, on Twitter, to BJP president J.P. Nadda that Tagore was born in Visva-Bharati. She quoted Tagore’s “Where the mind is without fear” and asked the BJP to “do their homework on the inclusive humanism of Tagore, Swamiji, Ambedkar, Birsa”.

Bringing up BJP MP Subramanian Swamy’s demand to replace the national anthem penned by Tagore, Mamata said:  “We will not tolerate any contempt of Tagore.”

“Those raising questions on even the national anthem now, I am clearly telling them… if they think they will impose their whims on others, we will be prepared to sacrifice our blood. We will not tolerate it,” she added.