Mamata's TMC slams BJP for using Tagore's pictures in posters ahead of Amit Shah's visit

Ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Bolpur in Birbhum district, hoardings with his picture of Rabindranath Tagore in the same frame caused outrage and TMC has accused the BJP of insulting Gurudeb. The pictures also caused outrage in neighbouring Santiniketan with a member of Tagore's family calling it "disgusting". TMC took to Twitter and told Amit Shah and BJP to "know the limits." The party said that BJP has once again insulted Tagore, adding that people of Bengal will "NEVER forgive this!" However, BJP leader Anupam Hazra, a picture of whom also figured in the same hoarding, alleged it was the handiwork of Trinamool Congress to embarrass the saffron party ahead of Shah's visit. 

TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said, "Those who have no respect for Rabindranath Tagore, those who vandalise the bust of an icon like Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar do not have any respect for Bengali culture and will commit a crude act like placing the picture of their leaders on top of that of Gurudev". The Trinamool Chhatra Parishad and members of the non-teaching organization of the party took out a rally at Santiniketan and Visva Bharati campus condemning the flex hoardings featuring the pictures of the BJP leaders and the Nobel laureate.

Amit Shah in Bengal

On Saturday, BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Kolkata after 1 am, amid massive rebellion in the ruling Trinamool Congress. Amit Shah is on a two-day visit to Mamata Banerjee ruled state and will take stock of his BJP's work in West Bengal ahead of the Assembly elections slated to be held next year. He is scheduled visit Bolpur on Sunday and hold a roadshow.  Amit Shah extended his tribute to Rabindranath Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Syama Prasad Mookerjee after reaching Bengal. Speculations are rife that ex-TMC MLA Suvendu Adhikari, may join the BJP during Shah's visit along with a slew of disgruntled TMC leaders.

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Another controversy over Tagore

Earlier, when Nadda visited Bengal, TMC targeted the BJP chief over his statement on Rabindranath Tagore. Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool claimed that Nadda said that Tagore was born in Vishwa Bharti. Terming it as 'lie' and 'false information', Trinamool taunted Nadda by saying that 'foreigners' should learn about the history of Bengal, they also shared a screenshot of BJP's Twitter handle saying the same.

Mamata Banerjee slammed Nadda, “Those who can come up with such gigantic lies about even Rabindranath Tagore, what do you expect them to do about you and me? They have shamed Bengal…. I appeal to all lovers of Bengal’s civilisation, culture… members of the civil society, everyone… protest, resist, roar,” she said.

However, BJP lashed out at Trinamool and its MP Nusrat Jahan and slammed them for spreading false information. BJP clarified by posting a video of Nadda's speech and said that what he had meant was that Tagore was born in West Bengal. Nadda had invoked Tagore in his speech and said, "Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, today the head is down and the people of Bengal are full of fear". Nobel laureate Tagore was born in Jorasanko (now in Bangladesh) in 1861 and he had founded Visva Bharati in 1921.

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