'Bunch of people love to spread false narrative about Bengal, it irks me'

Outsiders have been hired and they make doctored videos, which are being uploaded on social media.

MP | 26 Sept 2022 | KOLKATA: Claiming that 'outsiders' had been hired to make fake videos in a deliberate narrative to malign the image of Bengal on social media, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Sunday — without taking names — said a "bunch of people love defaming the state" and the same irks her. 

"There are a bunch of people, who love spreading canards against Bengal and it angers me," Banerjee said, adding that such people should also talk about the development of the state. 

Unveiling the festival number of the party's mouthpiece 'Jago Bangla' at Nazrul Mancha on Sunday afternoon Banerjee said that she believed in "development and not in politics of revenge". 

Reiterating that an attempt was being made to defame Bengal, she said: "Outsiders have been hired and they make doctored videos, which are being uploaded on social media. The stories are full of lies. Had these people shown the development that had taken place in Bengal, the rest of the country would have seen the progress that has been made in the past decade. Banerjee added that these people cannot see the recognitions her government has received and the achievements it has made. 

"Earlier, during my visit to Delhi, I felt so bad as people talked about Bengal negatively. I could understand that people with vested interests had fed them with wrong information," she added. 

Banerjee said it was most unfortunate that even her opinions are changed by 'these people' for their benefit. 

"If I say anything, my opinion is changed. This had never happened in the past," she added. Hitting out at the CPI(M), she said: "We do not believe in revenge. We believe only in development. We are not vindictive else we could have arrested their leaders for their wrongdoings of 34 years. We did not do that and they behave in ways as if they are the only genuine persons."
Banerjee urged party councillors to buy at least 10 copies of the festival number of 'Jago Bangla' and distribute the same free-of-cost in tea stalls, restaurants and hotels in their areas. "I read Jago Bangla every day or else I feel as if I am missing something," she maintained, adding "no state government advertisement is given to Jago Bangla while the Left Front government used to give government advertisements to Ganashakti, the CPI(M) party organ." 

She added: "CPI(M)'s Ganashakti also had chit fund ads. We do not take ads from corporates to run the paper like the Left. They don't have any moral right to speak. We will continue to sustain without any ads," she said. 

A CD containing songs written and composed by Banerjee was also released on the occasion. Indranil Sen, singer and minister-of-state for Information and Cultural Affairs, sang one of her songs titled 'Pahar Jage, Mati Jage, Banshi Jage Re..'. 

The cover of Jago Bangla has been designed by Mamata Banerjee. Abhishek Banerjee, national general secretary of Trinamool Congress, Saugata Roy, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Derek O' Brien, Sukhendu Shekhar Ray, Bratya Basu, Shuvaprasanna, Nrishingha Prasad Bhaduri among others were present at the function. Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek have written articles in Jago Bangla. 

The festival number contains essays by Subrata Bakshi, Sukhendu Shekhar Ray, Saugata Roy, Nrisingha and Prasad Bhaduri to name a few. Dr Kunal Sarkar and Dr Shantanu Sen have written on health issues. Shirshendu Mukherjee and Sanjib Chatterjee, among others, have written in the festival number while poems by Jay Goswami, Subodh Sarkar, Bithi Chattopadhyay among others have been published. 

Meanwhile, Banerjee on Sunday inaugurated about 263 Durga Pujas of different districts, including some from North Bengal, virtually from the venue of Chetla Agrani Puja. She also painted the eyes (chokkhu daan) of the Durga idol at Chetla on the occasion of Mahalaya. 

A park or a road should be rechristened in the name of Pranab Mukherjee, Mamata told Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim. 

http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/bunch-of-people-love-to-spread-false-narrative-about-bengal-it-irks-me-494098