Ram versus Hanuman in Bengal proves alliance between BJP, Trinamool: Forward Bloc

Slamming West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress for organising worship of monkey god Hanuman to counter the BJP's aggressive Ram Navmi celebrations, the Forward Bloc on Wednesday said the politicisation of the religious programme has proved the alliance between the two parties was intact.

"We are not in anyone's favour, neither Rama nor Hanuman. We have been saying there is alliance between the Trinamool Congress and BJP. The way the two parties are politicising a religious programme is unfortunate," said the party's state General Secretary Naren Chattopadhyay.

Taking a dig at the Trinamool for worshipping Hanuman, he said the party's stand proved its closeness to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as the monkey god was a devotee of Lord Rama.

"The entire episode is a pointer to the weaknesses of the state government in tackling communal tension in the state.

"A party like BJP has gained in strength during Trinamool's rule, whereas the saffron party literally had no base when the Left Front was in power (from 1977 to 2011)," Chattopadhyay told reporters here.

He described the newly elected Uttar Pradesh government's crackdown on illegal slaughter house as a never-before-seen "state sponsored communal terrorism".

While announcing the party's programme for the coming two months, he described the Mamata Banerjee government's announcement of waiving revenue on agricultural land as an "eye-wash".

"During the LF rule, no revenue was taken on agricultural land up to four acres in case of irrigated land and up to six acres for non-irrigated land. About 90 percent agricultural land owners come under the four acres bracket. The Trinamool government's new announcement is not new," Chatterjee said.

He said the state government, instead, has raised the stamp duty, land conversion and mutation fees exorbitantly, for which common people are facing hardship.

The party would hold law violation programme in district land revenue officers across the state on April 17 and 18 demanding lowering of stamp duty, land conversion and mutation fees, he added.

--IANS

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