BJP slams Mamata Banerjee over Kaaba song in Durga pandal

New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday strongly objected to the singing of a song with reference to Kaaba and Madinah at a Durga pandal in West Bengal in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, slamming it as a "deep shadow of extremist and appeasement politics" over Hindu traditions.

BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also raised the issue of Booker prize-winning author Banu Mushtaq inaugurating the Dasara festival in Mysuru recently, and coupled this with the incident in a Kolkata pandal to wonder if it is all a part of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc's efforts to "eradicate" Sanatan Dharma.

The BJP had criticised the decision of the Congress government in Karnataka to invite Mushtaq, a Muslim, to inaugurate a Hindu religious event.

Trivedi asked the critics of the Waqf law brought by the Modi government, who have objected to the provision on the presence of non-Muslims in managing Waqf assets, if they consider the rendition of a song glorifying another religion in the Durga pandal as a "sweet, secular music".

The BJP leader said the country needs to be aware of the deeper conspiracy at work here which, he alleged, is aimed at appeasing extremist votes.

There is nothing wrong in eulogising a religion but doubts grow as it is being done in a Durga pandal in the presence of the state's chief minister, he told reporters.

He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi too has in the past taken aims at Hindu practices, and asked him and Banerjee to clear their stand on the issue.

Trivedi claimed that the state's ruling Trinamool Congress is acting in desperation due to its likely defeat in the assembly polls next year and that it stopped organisers of a Durga pandal from highlighting Operarion Sindoor and denied the government grant to them.

It is clear that the TMC's snub and insult are not only confined to the BJP but extend to the Hindu religion and culture, he said.

Trivedi also took a swipe at Gandhi for his foreign trip, saying the opposition leader has gone abroad again as is his "habit" and the media should be ready for his meeting with "suspicious people and anti-India comments".

Trivedi also hit back at the Congress for its criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his visit to Odisha where he launched several development initiatives.

The Congress is neither in government nor is the main opposition party in the state, he said, adding that it keeps attacking Modi in its inferiority complex and envy towards him.

BJP's IT department head and its co-incharge for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, also slammed Banerjee for the choice of song in the pandal.

"After Mamata Banerjee inaugurated several puja pandals wearing a hijab during the inauspicious Pitru Paksha, Madan Mitra, one of her sidekicks, sang, 'There's the Kaaba in my heart and Medina in my eyes' inside a Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata, West Bengal," he said, posting a video.

He added, "This is how Sanatan Dharma and Sanatani beliefs are being trampled in West Bengal. Hindus in the state must rise to protect their traditions; otherwise, nothing will be left to defend, and they will be at the mercy of rampaging jihad, consequences of which are visible across Bangladesh."