Visva-Bharati being pulled into narrow hateful divisive politics: Mamata Banerjee

During a rally in Bolpur, the Chief Minister of Bengal branded Visva-Bharati Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty as a “BJP man” and said he plans on destroying the rich heritage of the hallowed institution by “importing divisive and communal politics inside its campus”.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. File Photo.

Raising the outsider pitch once again, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday said Visva Bharati University was being dragged into narrow hateful politics.  

Ms. Banerjee was addressing people at the end of a colourful four-km road show in Bolpur in Birbhum district at the very same stretch where Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a road show on December 20 .

Visva-Bharati, set up by Rabindranath Tagore, was being insulted by being “dragged into narrow hateful politics”, she said. “It pains to see how Visva-Bharati is being dragged into a narrow politics of religious fanaticism, Throughout the State, a narrow hateful politics is being propagated.”

In her 30-minute speech, the Chief Minister repeatedly referred to Tagore. In Tagore’s Bengal, attempts were being made to promote a kind of “fake politics”, she alleged.

On the BJP’s poll promise of making the State ‘sonar Bangla’ (golden Bangla), she said the term was coined by Tagore himself and was used in the national anthem of Bangladesh penned by him.

Attacks VC

Ms. Banerjee also made direct on attack on Visva-Bharati Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty. She said he was one with a stamp of the BJP.

The Chief Minister raked up the issue of ‘outsider’ (bahiragata), saying those attacking the Trinamool Congress were not aware of the culture of Bengal. “If you see these outsiders in Bengal please go and lodge a complaint with the police.. They will not stay here after the elections,” she stated.

The road show by Ms. Banerjee while being projected as a show of strength also showcased as the culture of Santiniketan, with numerous local musical traditions and musicians joining it. Thousands of people lined up on both sides of the road to have a glimpse of the Chief Minister, who was accompanied by Birbhum MP Satabadi Roy, who held a portrait of Tagore.

A high point of the rally was the presence of Basudeb Das Baul, the Baul singer at whose residence Mr. Shah had lunch during his visit to Bolpur. He sang the same song on Ms. Banerjee’s stage which he had sung for Mr. Shah.