Taking a sharp dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday put up a queer challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.
“Amit babu and Modi babu come and have a competition of shlokas with me. Let's see who has more knowledge about Sanskrit mantras,” Banerjee said while speaking at an International Marwari Federation Holy Celebrations event in Kolkata.
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Banerjee's comments are seen as a response to the controversy over last year's Durga Puja, the state's biggest festival. Modi had launched a scathing attack on the chief minister saying Bengal's biggest festival was in danger because of the chief minister's “appeasement politics”.
Puja does not mean only sporting a tilak on the forehead, Banerjee said on Tuesday.
“They say we don't allow Durga Puja. In this country, there are many beautiful temples. How many have they built? They are not able to build even one Ram temple,” the chief minister said.
Taking potshots at the saffron party, she further said: “You cannot see how Dakhineswar, Tarapith , Tarakeswar temples were beautified? Skywalk at the Kalighat Temple is being constructed. You only utter lies."
Banerjee, a staunch critic of Modi, also accused the BJP of “playing Holy with blood”.
"I believe in playing Holi with colours and a pure mind, unlike a section who believes in playing Holi with the blood of others... I do not need to learn the true meaning of communal harmony from a divisive force like BJP," she said.
