If Bengal Burns…: Mohan Majhi Slams Mamata Banerjee For ‘Hateful Remarks’ On Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Several Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states, including Odisha, came down heavily on their West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee on Thursday for her ‘intimidating statement’ during a public rally at Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) foundation day.

Expressing displeasure in the strongest terms against her divisive language, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi asked who has given Mamata the authority to make negative, divisive and insensitive remarks on Odisha?

“Odisha is a peaceful state and its people are responsible…The people of Odisha will not accept such a hateful, negative remark and insensitive attitude towards our state,” the Odisha CM posted on X along with the video of Mamata in which she can be heard warning, ‘if Bengal burns, Assam, the North-East, Odisha, and Delhi will also burn’.

Referring to the death of a trainee doctor in Kolkata who was raped and murdered allegedly, Majhi further alleged that Mamata was making “vindictive” comments “without giving justice to the victim of the heinous crime”.

Check The Other Reactions

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also lambasted the Bengal CM, accusing her of trying to ignite unrest across India with her “politics of failure.” “Didi, how dare you threaten Assam? Don’t show us bloodshot eyes. Don’t try to set India on fire with your politics of failure. It does not suit you to speak in such divisive language,” he stated.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh also criticised her, stating, “How dare Didi threaten the Northeast? I condemn such irresponsible remarks in the strongest terms. She must publicly apologize to the Northeast and the rest of the nation. Mamata Banerjee must immediately stop inciting violence and hatred with divisive politics. It is highly unbecoming of a political leader to issue threats of violence on a public platform.”

Terming her remarks as unprecedented and threatening, West Bengal BJP state president and Union Minister of State Sukanta Majumdar also shot off a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah stating that she “no longer deserves to hold such an important position”. “It is unthinkable and unprecedented for a chief minister, who is constitutionally bound to rise above partisan attitudes, to make such intimidating statements that pose a threat to democracy,” he told reporters.

Mamata’s ‘War Cry’

Mamata statement had come on a day after the state witnessed sporadic instances of violence, during a 12-hour shutdown in Bengal, over the alleged Kolkata rape and murder incident. She chastised the BJP for the violence during the bandh (strike) and the ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ protest march to the state secretariat.

Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of orchestrating violence in West Bengal, Mamata said: “Some people think this is Bangladesh. I love Bangladesh; they speak like us and share our culture. But remember, Bangladesh is a separate country, and India is a separate country. Modi Babu is using his party to cause fire here. If you burn Bengal, Assam, northeast, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Delhi too shall burn! We will topple your chair.”

She was referring to the student protests in Bangladesh that brought down the Sheikh Hasina government.