Mamata's Id vow is to fight forces that divide : We want unity, Bengal CM says at Red Road prayer

Mamata Banerjee addresses the 14,000-strong gathering on Id at Calcutta’s Red Road on Tuesday morning. : Bishwarup Dutta

Arkamoy Datta Majumdar   |   TT  |  Calcutta   |    04.05.22  : Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday sent out a message of amity and appealed to people to continue their fight against divisive forces in her address on the occasion of Id.

Addressing over 14,000 people who had gathered at Red Road to offer their Id prayers on a rain-soaked morning, the chief minister did not name the BJP, but made it clear that the saffron camp was her target.

“Do not be afraid. Keep fighting, no matter who comes (against you)...Whatever is happening in the nation today is not right. The divide-and-rule policy, the politics of isolation which is at play in the nation today is not right. We want unity,” she said.

Mamata’s presence at the Red Road prayer gathering on Id has been a regular sight since the change of guard in Bengal. She has always used the platform to iterate her commitment to Muslim uplift. Her address at this year’s assembly — organised after a gap of two years because of the pandemic — was, however, much more political.

“I promise you, as long I am alive, I will fight for your cause. Be it the Hindus, the Muslims or the Christians,” Mamata told the crowd after the conclusion of the prayers. “I am ready to sacrifice my life for human beings, for humanity, for justice. But I am not ready to bow down.”

Lately, there have been allegations that violence against Muslims has been on the rise across the nation in the past few months.

Several administrative bodies helmed by the BJP like the South Delhi civic body, and state governments in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have been accused of going after the Muslims.

Mamata used the occasion to remind the gathering that unlike any other Indian state her government has declared a two-day holiday for Id. She said her government provided land for the Calcutta Khilafat Committee which organises the Red Road prayers, built a massive Haj building and upgraded the Aliah University.

Mamata took a dig at Narendra Modi’s political slogan of achche din without naming him.

“Good days will be with you. But not the fake good days. We want real good days. Good days for everyone,” Mamata said.

“Everyone has to stay together. But some people try to divide Hindus and Muslims. Please don’t listen (to them). They abuse me a lot but I don't listen to them... This spirit to fight, I have received from you all. That is the power of humanity and justice,” the chief minister said.

Hailing the secular fabric of Bengal, Mamata claimed that no other Indian state can boast of the unity characteristic of Bengal.

Mamata's speech on Tuesday, according to Trinamul sources, was significant since it was an opportunity to assess the mood of the community, a section of whom had protested against her government after the death of student leader Anis Khan and Trinamul’s fielding of former BJP minister Babul Supriyo in the Ballygunge bypoll.

Twice in her speech, Mamata asked the audience if it had faith in her.

“Do you trust me? Remember one thing, I have not learnt to break trust. I’ll die with your trust... That is what I learnt from my parents... Please have faith in me. We have to fight together in the coming days,” she said.

“The forces which are trying to divide the country with oppression and trying to divide love, we will fight against them and remove them,” she said.

Trinamul general-secretary Abhishek Banerjee was also present with Mamata. He also stressed that his party will fight till the end to rid the nation of divisive forces.

Later in the day, Mamata went to meet Kiswar Jahan, the mother of late graphic designer Rizwanur Rahman, who died mysteriously on September 21, 2007.