‘Sanatanis won’t harm you’: Bengal BJP leader’s messages for those who wear skullcaps, sell meat | Exclusive

The BJP, which aims to achieve its long-pending goal of removing Mamata Banerjee from power, has been going all out to counter the claims by the chief minister and gain the confidence of people that it understands fish is not just food for Bengalis, it’s an emotion.

BJP’s attempts to dismiss Mamata Banerjee’s claims have included its leaders making fish part of the election campaign in Bengal, where voting is taking place on April 23 and April 29 for the assembly polls.

While BJP leader Anurag Thakur was seen consuming fish on Tuesday, party candidate from Bidhannagar — Sharadwat Mukherjee — was the first one to hit headlines few weeks ago in the non-veg war when he canvassed a fish during his campaign.

TMC’s claims stem from reported incidents where BJP supporters and individuals belonging to pro-Hindutva outfits schooling those running non-vegetarian eateries.

Speaking to hindustantimes.com, Mukherjee described chief minister Banerjee’s claims over non-vegetarian food as one of the “useless narratives” which turn the people into something which they shouldn’t have been.

So, I decided to campaign with the fish. Though myself, I am not that keen a fish eater. I am basically an eggetarian. In my house, many people do take, in my family, extended family… that’s we are part of Bengal. So, obviously all Bengalis enjoy fish.

And fish no doubt is one of the finest non-veg items, health wise also. It’s one of the finest proteins. So, there is nothing bad in campaigning with the fish. But I never knew that it will go viral.

And moreover, one more thing, I always think that these narratives set by political parties, because I was a fresh joiner into politics. These narratives are useless things which turns the people into something which they shouldn’t have been.

It’s very sad to say that in Bengal the election is, the diet of a person is an election issue. Whereas in other states like Maharashtra, like Gujarat, like Tamil Nadu, they usually have a debate on investment. They usually have a debate on how much educational facilities will be offered.

And what will be the pin-up poster by educational institutions. How much of the infrastructure, road infrastructure, railway infrastructure. And fortunately our chief minister, she has long forgotten that there is something called infrastructure.

The taxpayers’ money goes into infrastructure, into education, into health, into industry. But she is a dole distributor chief minister. She is interested only in doles which in the long run I think will never support a community, will never improve the state of affairs in Bengal. One need to correct that. So, I did that. Just because she should stop talking about fish.

But she being a street smarts politician, a grassroot level politician, she knows the pulse better than me. She knows that this time she is losing. So, she is now creating narratives and putting up, creating issues.

So, that there is a diversion of all the, from all the other issues. People might consider this as a new one. But I think the electorate is very mature. They don’t think about those.

Had Humayun Kabir been so important for BJP, then we would have considered him long back. BJP is never interested in Humayuns and Kabirs… You know that, quote unquote. Pun might not be intended. But we are not interested in Humayuns and Kabirs.

And incidentally, rather coincidentally, they were Muslims who were not Indians. That’s not our fault. SIR finds out who, whoever is a logical and legal voter for India. Not legal on Bengal. It’s done by the Election Commission of India, not Bengal. It’s been done in many states, very, very peacefully. Just find out any single issue from Tamil Nadu. It’s going into polls; Assam. It’s ruled by BJP. Tamil Nadu isn’t ruled by BJP. So, Bihar… There were no such issues. There was no hue and cry.

Again. this is creation.

And the sun will rise in the east. It will be the BJP sun.

If one can say I am very happy to be a Muslim, so I too can say I am proud to be a Sanatani. There is no harm in it. We are not despising any other religion, caste, community, whatever.

There is no hatred from us. But Sanatani’s we know, we are inclusive religion. So, we are all inclusive.

And it’s just because Sanatani’s were there, you know what, everyone did come. Right from Babur to Alexander to the English, the British. Everyone came and plundered our country. They did mass conversions out of coercion. The conversion was out of coercion then. History will tell you.

The Sikh guru was murdered brutally in central Old Delhi. Just consider this. That’s again was an administrative terrorism.

If you teach one Sikh guru a lesson, then others will follow suit and they will also start converting out of fear. So, this is what they did. All, you find out all the mandirs in north of India, all were plundered and all the masjids you are now seeing in the north of India are basically on, built on previously existing mandirs. Even there is a book about the Taj Mahal. Go and read it. There are various examples, reasons we say, even the Taj was built on a Hindu structure. It was a Hindu structure.

BJP is ruling Gujarat for, I have forgotten how many decades. And it has about 20-25 per cent Muslims. Go and ask the Muslims of Gujarat, Maharashtra.

Go and ask the Muslims of Maharashtra. They are earning more than the Muslims of Bengal. The Muslims of Bengal will learn something if they travel to Gujarat and Maharashtra. How good the Muslims are faring there.

That’s what we believe in. Safranisation is something again a narrative created by them. Again, we are not saying we are anti-Muslims.

We are pro-Sanatanis. And there is nothing wrong in it. Garv se bolo, I am Hindu.

We are proud to be a Sanatani. There is nothing wrong in it. If a Muslim comes with a skull cap and a beard, do we say anything wrong in it? Do you find anything wrong in it? No. He is a very proud Musliman. Musallam Iman, that is what is Musliman.

So, we too can be wearing a saffron and a teeka and a sacred thread if he is a Brahmin. Is there anything wrong in it? You know what, the ghost of Marxism is still there somewhere in some parts of the world. We need to drive the ghost of Marxism.

Religion should be there because if there is religion in any community, whatsoever religion it might be, people become righteous. Not leftists. Righteous.

They become righteous. Follow the right path. Because most of the religion they teach that do not take bribe.

Do not go into cut money. Do not do syndicate practice. Do not sell out jobs what Mamata has done.

Selling out jobs… Just think of it. It’s a unique state. 26,000 teachers, the jobs were sold out by Mamata Banerjee. She earned her revenue and she is spending that revenue in this election. She just sold 26,000 jobs. This is the single most important issue the people of Bengal should never ever forgive this party and the supreme lord Mamata Banerjee. It’s loud and clear. She is a thief, a thug.

I am not mincing words. This is what she is.

Can you marry with ₹3,000 and set up a family? Let’s be honest, hand on heart. This was just a ploy by Mamata Banerjee to give out something to buy votes, purchase votes. And if you consider this again as a good ploy, we have our own schemes as well.

These are short term schemes to tide over a crisis but not for the ultimate development of a community or a state. A state needs to have a very rock solid infrastructure, business, industry, education, health infrastructure. Just name one she has done.

I leave politics. I will resign today even after getting the nomination and filing the nomination. I will resign today.

Just name one she has done. She has never put up a new medical college. All the medical colleges which are supposedly new.

Seventy per cent funding was done by the government of India. No one knows. She only did 30 per cent.

That’s infrastructure. Just painting them, giving a few doctors. The new medical colleges which has come up in Bengal in the last 3-4 years, seventy per cent of it was from government of India, not from the government of West Bengal.

So, and this entire non-veg debate and you must have seen people who claim they are part of BJP or somehow claim to BJP. In other states going around and vandalising people’s stalls.

You know what BJP does issue based politics. What’s the issue in Uttarakhand is not similar or same as in Bengal. Jali Kattu was there in Tamil Nadu.

There are issues which are separate and unique for a region, for a particular community, for a state to be very particular might be even a district or again a mandir or a masjid. If you pick up a masjid say for example, can I go there and start selling pork steaks? Will it be allowed? Hand on heart. No. So, what there was a mutton or chicken patties… whatever was being sold when we were reciting Gita.

So, that’s a small place called Brigade Parade Ground where a puja was going on. For us it’s sacred, most sacred religious granth. So, you should respect the sanctity of that place and the rituals we practice.

We are never saying that you go and don’t sell it in Park Street. Go and sell it in Park Street. No harm.

But they made an issue out of nothing. Bikash Bhattacharya, the advocate, he proudly took beef. Why wasn’t he accompanied by Mohammed Salim who could have enjoyed a pork steak along with him? Question them. You are a journalist. Question them. Question Mamata Banerjee.

Let her come up and take beef. You can say many a thing but you can never do a single one.