Mamata practising soft Hindutva to stop consolidation of Hindu votes: BJP

West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh on Wednesday accused state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of practising "soft Hindutva" to stop consolidation of "Hindu votes" in favour of BJP.

TMC practices Muslim appeasement and it has started backfiring in several parts of the state, he said.

His comment comes in the backdrop of Banerjee's visit to a temple in Birbhum district yesterday.

"If we go to the temple we are branded as communal. But if TMC leaders visit temples, they are secular. The TMC is practising soft Hindutva in Bengal to stop the consolidation of Hindu votes in favour of BJP," Ghosh said at the sidelines of a two day organisational meet of the party here.

Citing Congress president Rahul Gandhi's visit to temples in Gujarat during the assembly poll campaign, Ghosh said Banerjee is taking lessons from Gandhi in practising "soft Hindutva".

"The so-called secular leaders are practising Hindutva because they are well aware that Hindus are uniting under BJP.

They have realised that they will no longer be able to win elections by appeasing Muslims," Ghosh said.