Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, West Bengal BJP president and union minister of state for education and development of North Eastern region, led a protest by the party's north Kolkata unit on Wednesday. It was held in response to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s “mrityu Kumbh” comment.
During her speech in the ongoing budget session at the West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday, CM Banerjee referred to the Mahakumbh stampede incident, which resulted in the deaths of at least 30 people. She remarked, “I will not call it a Maha Kumbh. It has now become a ‘mrityu Kumbh.’”
The BJP in response burned her effigy during its demonstration at Central Avenue-Mahatma Gandhi Road crossing. Dr. Majumdar accused the Trinamool Congress supremo of disrespecting one of Hinduism’s largest festivals to allegedly “appease jihadis, Ansarul Bangla, and Jamat” for electoral support in border regions.
He urged Hindus worldwide to unite and protest against the chief minister, saying, “If you even see a picture of Mamata Banerjee, protest in any way you can.”
The Bengal BJP president also revealed that he has taken up the matter with Governor C.V. Ananda Bose in a letter. “In 2024, some people from West Bengal died during the Hajj to Mecca. She didn’t make any derogatory comment then,” Dr. Majumdar said.
Additionally, he sent another letter asking the governor to direct West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee to revoke the “unethical” suspension of four BJP MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who were allegedly suspended for “unruly behaviour” in the assembly.
Meanwhile, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the RSS’s student wing, staged a protest outside the West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday. A day earlier, BJP MLAs, who had boycotted the chief minister’s address, also protested outside the assembly in response to her Mahakumbh remarks.