Thursday, 01 April 2021 | Saugar Sengupta | Kolkata
Mention of her “gotra” or sub-caste by Mamata Banerjee tended to add more toxicity to the never-so-witnessed polarised campaign with the BJP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi attacking the Bengal Chief Minister for trying to appease the majority electorate while the Trinamool Congress hitting back comparing some of saffron leaders with rakshas or demons.
It all started when the Chief Minister referred to her visit to a temple. She said that while offering the puja she mentioned her “gotra” as “Maa, Maati, Manush” though she also told the priests that she originally belonged to the Sandilya gotra, one of the highest sub-castes of the Brahmins.
Mamata earlier said, “I visited a temple where the priest asked my ‘gotra’. I told him Maa Maati Manush (TMC’s campaign slogan hailing Mother earth and people), but actually I’m sandilya.”
As a prompt reaction came from a sharp-tongued BJP leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who linked Mamata with the Rohingyas and the infiltrators.
Claiming that he “never felt the need to reveal my gotra… But Mamata Didi due to the fear of PM Modi and due to the fear of losing polls has told her gotra,” Singh wondered “if Sandilya is also the gotra of Rohingyas and infiltrators.” He also said that the Chief Minister was “scared now, that’s why sometimes she’s questioning the Election Commission, sometimes she’s attacking BJP workers like Suvendu (Adhikari) and sometimes using her gotra. But I can say with certainty that she will lose these elections.”
TMC MP Mohua Moitra was quick to react. Taking on the Union Minister, Moitra said whether he belonged to the “Chotiwala Raksha clan” (ponytailed demonic clan).
She wrote “Union Minister Giriraj says Mamata’s from ‘Rohingya clan’. Proud of it. Far better than being from the Chotiwala rakshasa clan!”
The BJP leaders like MP Locket Chatterjee, immediately joined the twitter war attacking Moitra.
Calling the TMC’s level of politics shameful she wrote: “Proud of being a Rohingya and calling Hindus Rakshas is a new low even by TMC’s otherwise low standards! Shame on their appeasement politics.”
Singh, too tweeted back in Hindi, saying “Shikha/Chutia (ponytail) has been an integral part of the Sanatan civilisation and culture of India and it is not fair to abuse Sanatan for the sake of a vote. Keep washing the Rohingya’s feet… Soon Hindustan will ask for the answer.”
Not only the Hindu brigade the Muslim leadership too came down heavily on Mamata for her “unprincipled” shifting of tack to garner votes even as All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi attacked the Chief Minister wondering what the fate of those did not belong to any gotra or who did not recite any path (prayer) should be.
“What should happen to people like me who aren’t sandilya or janeudhari, aren’t bhakts of certain gods, don’t recite chalisa or any path? Every party feels that it has to show its Hindu credentials to win. Unprincipled, insulting & unlikely to succeed.”
Mamata had earned the wrath of both Hindu right wing and secular politicians for her minority appeasement that had sucked Bengal into the vortex of communal politics which had never been the essential feature the renaissance State.
With the elections being fought along communal lines Mamata’s opponent in Nandigram Suvendu Adhikari has of late been calling her “Mamata Begum” and claiming he would win the elections as he had the backing of 70 per cent (the Hindus) while she was banking on 30 per cent (the Muslim minority).
