India News | Mamata's 'Mrityu Kumbh' Remark Shows More 'satisfaction' Than Sensitivity: BJP
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The BJP on Tuesday slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her "Mrityu Kumbh" jibe, saying it reflected more a sense of "satisfaction" on her part in the bid to score political points than any real sensitivity on the matter.
New Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI) The BJP on Tuesday slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her "Mrityu Kumbh" jibe, saying it reflected more a sense of "satisfaction" on her part in the bid to score political points than any real sensitivity on the matter.
Speaking in the state assembly, Banerjee said the Maha Kumbh being organised in the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh has turned into a "Mrityu Kumbh" due to incidents of stampede, alleging that the actual death toll was suppressed by the authorities.
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Hitting back, BJP national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said her comments mirrored the sentiment in the opposition INDIA bloc, which was earlier manifested in a conference on "eradication of Sanatan dharma", burning of Hindi holy books and comparing the religion to diseases like HIV, dengue and malaria.
In this context, he also referred to the alleged international support for a conference on "dismantling global Hindutva".
What she has said is highly irresponsible and condemnable, Trivedi said.
"These people are trying to show so-called sympathy but they are in real sense feeling more satisfaction in their mind and trying to score political points," he said.
The BJP MP said Banerjee had earlier made Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim the head of a Hindu religious body.
Hakim, he claimed, has openly described some part of the state as "mini Pakistan". These are the people liked and cherished by Banerjee, he said.
He noted that the Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a probe by a retired judge into the stampede, which claimed 30 lives, as per the official figure.
Kumbh, he said, is one of the greatest traditions, highlighting the "cultural, religious, spiritual, scientific values" of the eternal wisdom of India.
Another BJP spokesperson Prem Shukla said Banerjee repeatedly strikes at the faith of Hindus.
Leaders of the opposition alliance, be it Mallikarjun Kharge, Akhilesh Yadav or Banerjee, have been insulting the faith of devotees who, he added, have turned up in huge numbers at the Maha Kumbh.
In her address, Banerjee said, "I will not call it a Maha Kumbh. It has now become a 'Mrityu Kumbh'. It is like a death pit. I respect the Maha Kumbh, I respect Ganga Maa. However, there was no planning for the event. Thirty people have died; how many dead bodies were immersed in the river? Thousands have died. Fire has broken out eight times, too."
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)