Banerjee says Modi insulted Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay by using “Bankim da” in Parliament.
Modi accepted MPs’ objection and switched to “Bankim babu”.
Mamata alleges BJP is eroding Bengal’s cultural legacy and links SIR roll publication to early poll announcement.
Mamata Slams PM Modi for Calling Bankim Chandra ‘Bankim Da’
At a Cooch Behar rally, Mamata Banerjee demands an apology, accusing the PM of disrespecting Bengal’s cultural icon amid a growing political flashpoint.
Summary
Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday of insulting the writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay by referring to him as "Bankim da" and sought an apology.
Speaking at a rally in the Cooch Behar district, Banerjee claimed that the PM had not even been born when the nation attained independence and yet had chosen to casually address one of Bengal's biggest cultural icons.
"You did not even show him the minimum respect he deserves. You should apologise for this, to the nation," she said.
The PM's mention of the author during a discussion in the Lok Sabha on Monday to mark the 150th anniversary of Chattopadhyay's national song, Vande Mataram, was the flashpoint.
The PM should use "Bankim babu" instead of using the suffix "da," according to TMC MP Saugata Roy.
Modi immediately accepted the sentiment, saying, "I will say Bankim 'babu'. Thank you, I respect your sentiments," and asked in a lighter vein whether he could still address Roy as 'dada'.
Banerjee accused the BJP of destroying Bengal's culture, language, and legacy if it were to win power in the state.
In order to prevent anyone from contesting it in court, she further asserted that the state's assembly elections will be announced shortly after the final electoral rolls from the SIR exercise were published.
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