A veritable political “storm in a tea cup” has arisen over Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee’s assertions on Wednesday that all in the RSS were “not bad” and that there are many who “do not support BJP”.
While the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday attacked her for what they saw as opportunism on Ms. Banerjee’s part, the BJP said it did not need certificates from her.
The RSS, instead of commenting on her left-handed praise, pointed to Bengal’s record of political violence and asked for corrective measures.
The sharpest attack came from the Hyderabad-based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who on Thursday said that “in 2003 too, she had called RSS ‘patriots’, (and) in turn Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh had called her Durga”.
Mr. Owaisi, whose party failed to win a single seat including the Muslim majority constituencies in Bengal in the last Assembly elections where it positioned itself as opposed to both the TMC and the BJP, said sarcastically, “Hope TMC’s ‘Muslim faces’ praise her for her honesty and consistency”.
The TMC, however, tried to make light of Mr. Owaisi’s remark and said the party didn’t need to prove its secular credentials to him.
"We don't need to prove anything to Owaisi. Mamata Banerjee has tried to say that every organisation has good and bad people. We don't need to prove our secular credentials to anyone after we defeated the BJP-RSS juggernaut in the last assembly polls," TMC MP Sougata Roy said.
However, besides AIMIM, a host of bigger parties joined the fray in taking on Ms. Banerjee’s `praise’ for the RSS.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday said, “"This is not for the first time that she (Mamata Banerjee) has praised the RSS.” Ms. Banerjee had allied herself with the BJP-led NDA during late Atal Behari Vajpayee's term as Prime Minister, before distancing herself from the NDA but had a tempestuous relationship with the alliance, often attacking it over disinvestment and other issues.
He repeated Mr. Owaisi’s instance from 2003, when “she had participated in a book release programme of the RSS. She had sought their support to topple the Left Front government (then).”
Mr. Chowdhury claimed that Ms. Banerjee had even before that expressed her gratitude to the Nagpur-based RSS, which was considered the ideological parent of the BJP.
“Sometimes she cajoles Hindu fundamentalists and sometimes the Muslims to get electoral dividends. Mamata Banerjee has been exposed again," the Congress leader said.
The West Bengal Chief Minister had in a passing remark at the State Secretariat function on Wednesday said, "RSS was not that bad. There are still people in the RSS who do not support the politics BJP does".
The Communists were not far behind in pillorying Ms. Banerjee. CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty claimed that her comments vindicated the Left party's stand that she was a "product" of the RSS.
"It is once again clear that TMC is not trustworthy in the fight against BJP," the CPI(M) leader claimed.
“Stop cycle of political violence”
The RSS, whose relations with TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee was the topic of political speculation, chose to ignore the praise and urged her to stop the cycle of political violence in the state.
"She has said there are some good people in the RSS. We would like to tell her that there can be political differences, but does that mean (political activists should involve themselves in) killing opponents,” RSS state general secretary Jishnu Basu said.
Mr. Basu claimed that around 60 people were killed in the State in post-poll violence.
“She should have ensured that law and order was in place. She is the Chief Minister of those who voted for her and those who voted against her,” he pointed out.
BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said neither the RSS nor the BJP needed a certificate from Ms. Banerjee.
"We don't need a certificate from Mamata Banerjee on who is good and who is bad. It is for the people to decide. We are not answerable to her," Mr. Ghosh said.
