West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday condemned the assault on two Kolkata food vendors in the strongest manner possible, declaring that such acts of intimidation would not be tolerated by her government.
She accused the BJP of trying to import a culture of communal division into the state after two men were assaulted at a recent Gita recital in Kolkata. Kolkata Police arrested three on Wednesday night for allegedly attacking the two food vendors at the 'Paanch Lokkho Konthe Gita Paath' (Gita recitation in five lakh voices) at Brigade Parade Ground on December 7, Sunday. The arrests were made on the basis of two complaints lodged at Maidan police station, a senior officer said.
The complainants, hailing from Topsia in Kolkata and Arambagh in Hooghly district, had gone to the venue to sell chicken patties when they were allegedly attacked. The accused reportedly threw away their stock and forced them to perform sit-ups while holding their ears. A video of the incident went viral on social media. Footage of the violent act and other evidence helped the Kolkata Police to nab the accused, news agency PTI said in a report.
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Addressing a public meeting in Krishnanagar in Nadia district, the Chief Minister said, "All of them (accused) have been arrested. This is West Bengal, not Uttar Pradesh. They beat up patty sellers... we arrested everyone last night."
Training her guns on the saffron party, CM Banerjee said, "I do not believe in communal divisions. I want to walk with all religions. What is the need to hold a public meeting just to read the Gita? Those who pray to God or seek blessings from Allah do so in their hearts," PTI quoted her as saying.
Taking a dig at "those invoking religious texts for political mobilisation," she added, "I want to ask those who keep chanting 'Gita, Gita' -- what did Sri Krishna say about dharma? Dharma means to uphold, not to divide. They want to destroy West Bengal. They want to capture the state and stop people from speaking in Bengali. We all read and recite the Gita. What is the need to hold a meeting for that?"
