West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has once again shown that appeasement of a particular community is her topmost priority. Even if appeasing that particular community is extremely prejudicial for the state of West Bengal, she won’t think twice before appeasing the community. This time around she made it clear that she won’t be attending the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled on June 16 as it coincides with Eid-ul-Fitr. Not only this, she has also made it clear that no representative will be allowed to participate in the crucial meeting.
When asked whether someone else would represent her, she brazenly stated that she won’t even permit anyone to replace her, and that she wouldn’t leave the state on that day. She wondered, “The invite is to me. How can someone else go?” Thus, Mamata Banerjee will neither participate in the NITI Aayog meeting herself nor allow anyone to take part in it. It seems she is so engrossed in appeasing her vote bank that she no longer cares about the state which has elected her to power.
One cannot understand what kind of secularism this is, where the welfare of entire state is held at ransom in order to appease a particular community. Secularism means to separate religion and state from each other. But Mamata’s brand of politics is antithetical to this ideology. In Mamata ruled West Bengal, governance is intimately connected to Islam and major decisions are taken according to this governance model. This is a perfect example of how Islamic tenets are not only kept in mind in matters relating to governance but are primary considerations for the TMC government. The whole state has therefore, come to a standstill when it came to celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to skip the meeting will have a devastating impact on West Bengal as she is excluding the state from a critical meeting having far-reaching conclusions. Prime minister Narendra Modi will chair the meeting on June 16 to discuss the country’s development agenda for ‘New India 2022’. The meeting is going to be attended by all chief ministers and members of the central think tank. The fact that West Bengal will go unrepresented is going to send out a very wrong signal. In blatant appeasement of the Muslim vote bank, development of West Bengal is going to be the casualty. This arbitrary decision to skip the NITI Aayog meeting by West Bengal chief minister is going to exclude the entire state from the national development process.
The truth about Mamata’s brand of secularism is out in the open. It reflects a sad state of affairs. West Bengal resembles ISIS today, with public executions of BJP workers, a flurry of riots targeting the Hindus, illegal arrests and politically motivated FIRs in order to silence all critics. Today, Mamata Banerjee is asking how the centre could dare to organise a NITI Aayog meeting on June 16 as it clashes with Eid-ul-Fitr. But the very same Mamata Banerjee has been guilty of curbing the religious rights of Hindus every now and then. She has been routinely issuing draconian orders banning celebrations of major Hindu festivals including Durga Pooja, which is not only a festival but an inseparable part of Bengali culture. Mamata Banerjee and TMC believe in restraining Hindus from exercising their religious rights, and in case they try to exercise their religious rights enshrined under the constitution, they are attacked by TMC goons. The way BJP wokers’ Ram Navmi pandal was destroyed by TMC goons is a clear illustration of its Hindu hating ideology. It is not secularism to disallow a community from exercising its legitimate religious rights enshrined under the constitution but halt the functioning of entire state when another community having political importance celebrates its religious festivals. What is unfortunate is the fact this is justified by TMC and news traders in the name of secularism. TMC and Mamata Banerjee epitomise the ugliest and most dangerous form of pseudo secularism in India.