Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday alleged that Communists and "cockroaches" were trying to create a "Bangladesh-like unrest" in India and their attempts must be resisted. In contrast, RSS leader Jishnu Basu defended the CPI(M), CPI and SUCI’s right to set up bookstalls, called those vandalising them “cowards.”
Under fire from the Left parties over alleged vandalism of their bookstalls near Durga Puja pandals, Adhikari said, "The Communists, they do not offer prayers, refuse to tie the sacred thread on their wrists, and do not put tilak on their foreheads. Beware of them."
The CPI(M), SUCI and other Left parties have alleged that their bookstalls were vandalised at several places across West Bengal, from Dinhata in Cooch Behar district to Haridevpur in south Kolkata. Left leaders have termed the alleged vandalism "an attack on democratic thought".
Speaking to reporters after offering prayers at a Durga Puja in Purba Medinipur's Kanthi, the chief minister said, "I prayed to Goddess Durga for the well-being of the people of the state and peaceful passage of the rest of the days of Durga Puja."
Referring to the stampede incident in Kolkata that left 19 dead, he appealed for "everyone's cooperation in making the rest of this year's puja accident-free".
Pointing to the vermilion mark on his forehead and the sacred thread tied on his wrist, Adhikari said, "I am not a Communist, I am not an atheist, and I am not a Jamaati (right-winged Islamist). I am a son of a Hindu, a proud Sanatani."
"As a Sanatani, worshipping the goddess is my duty," he said.
Taking a dig at the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which has taken to the streets demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR of electoral rolls, the chief minister said people should also be wary of "cockroaches and bedbugs".
Claiming that such forces were trying to create unrest across India like in Bangladesh, the Bengal chief minister said, "They must be resisted by any means."
Meanwhile RSS leader Jishnu Basu said that Left parties have the right to set up bookstalls, and those vandalising them are cowards, on Monday.
He asserted that the ethos of Hindutva allows others to express their opinion, and said, "Those indulging in such acts (vandalising bookstalls) are indirectly causing severe damage to an ideology."
Maintaining that the people of West Bengal united against the pride of power in the assembly elections and defeated the Trinamool Congress to bring the BJP to power, Basu said, "It is our duty to respect people's mandate."
"The CPI(M), CPI and SUCI have the right to set up bookstalls, unless they are indulging in any act that may endanger a life," said the RSS Saha Khetra Prachar Pramukh of South Bengal.
There is no masculinity in vandalising bookstalls, and those who attack these stalls are cowards, Basu said.
The Left parties have claimed that bookstalls set up by them near Durga puja pandals at various places in the state have been vandalised by people claiming allegiance to the saffron brigade.
"It has been alleged that police were also being deployed in many cases to remove these bookstalls," he said and pointed out that bookstalls set up by the RSS were vandalised during the Left and Trinamool Congress rule.
In some cases, RSS workers had been assaulted by ruling party goons, but that did not deter them from setting up such stalls again, Basu recalled
"If someone understands the ethos of Bharat and Hindus, they would know that it is not only about tolerance but also about accepting the ideals of others and giving them freedom to express their opinion," the RSS leader said.
