Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday said that over “1 crore Hindus” will participate in around 2,000 Ram Navami rallies across West Bengal on April 6.
Adhikari, who was speaking at a programme in his constituency Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district, called upon Ram Navami organisers not to seek permission from the administration to take out rallies as “we do not need permission to pray to Lord Ram”.
“Last year, around 50,000 Hindus had participated in around 1,000 Ram Navami rallies. This year, no less than 1 crore Hindus will hit the streets across the state, taking out 2,000 rallies on April 6,” the leader of opposition in the assembly said.
“Do not seek any permission from the administration to take out the rallies. We do not need permission to pray to Lord Ram. We will be peaceful. But it is the administration’s job to ensure that others also remain peaceful,” he said, without naming any community.
Adhikari announced that a Ram temple will be constructed at Sonachura in his constituency by the end of this year.
Ruling Trinamool Congress and opposition CPI(M) lashed out at Adhikari, accusing him of indulging in politics of “divisiveness and religion”.
West Bengal minister and senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim said, “People of the state will not be swayed by any rhetoric from BJP leaders like Adhikari. Everyone has the right to observe religious rituals and celebrate festivals the way they want.”
“In the land of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Sri Chaitanya, and Rabindranath Tagore, people cannot be swayed and influenced by jingoistic statements. Those who wish to take out Ram Navami rallies will do so. They don’t need promptings from Adhikari,” Hakim said.
CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said Adhikari was not the custodian of Hindu religion in West Bengal.
“Ram Navami had never been a mass festival for Hindus in West Bengal. It is only the BJP and TMC that projected Ram Navami to be such a big festival in the state. It is up to an individual to choose whether or not to participate in any festival. Adhikari is not the custodian of the Hindu religion in the state,” he said.