BJP deleted Sita's name to distort Lord Ram's chant: Mamata

Describing the slogan "Jai Shri Ram" as a distorted one, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused the BJP of deleting the name of Lord Ram's wife Sita from the original chant of "Jai Siya Ram" to coin the twisted slogan.

"You people write whatever the BJP says. Listen, the slogan 'Jai Siya Ram' is used in Uttar Pradesh. It means glory to Ram and Sita.

"When (Mahatma) Gandhiji used to sing the 'Ram Dhun', he chanted 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram, Patit Pavan Sita Ram'. But the BJP has deleted the name of Sita...Sita Maiya. They have distorted the original chant and are now raising a new slogan," Banerjee told mediapersons at Nabanna, the state secretariat .

The Chief Minister said she would go by the religious texts of the various communities in India.

"You people are dancing to their (BJP's) tune. But I won't. I'll go by the Quran, Puranas, Veda, Vedanta, Bible, Guru Granth Sahib and Tripitak. I won't go by the BJP'S slogan," she said.

The slogan "Jai Shri Ram" has created a big controversy in West Bengal with Banerjee repeatedly losing her cool and chasing and challenging BJP workers for raising the chant in her presence.

--IANS

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