Mamata slams BJP over armed Ram Navami rallies

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday lashed out at the BJP for taking out armed Ram Navami rallies in the state.

"They (the BJP) are holding rallies with swords and dividing people on religious lines. But Bengal never accepts those who resort to politics of violence," Mamata said while addressing a Trinamool Congress (TMC) rally in Siliguri area of Darjeeling.

Her Comments come on a day when hundreds of Ram Navami rallies were being taken out across the state in districts including North 24 Paraganas, Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram and West Medinipur. The state police have denied permission for armed Ram Navami rallies.

She further alleged that ahead of the elections, the BJP was resorting to take out armed Ram Navami rallies as a means to divide people.

Mamata's allegations drew a strong reaction from BJP state president Dilip Ghosh who said that if the TMC is opposed to Ram Navami rallies then they should change their mindset.

"Ram Navami is a part of our culture. We carry arms for self-defence and it has nothing to do with elections. If the TMC has problems with it then they should change their mindset," said Ghosh, who took part in a Ram Navami rally at Kharagpur where arms were being brandished.