West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday condemned the assault on two vendors selling non-veg food at a recent Gita recital event in Kolkata, asserting that such acts of intimidation “would not be tolerated in the state because it is not Uttar Pradesh.”Also Read | West Bengal: 2 men assaulted for selling chicken puffs to Gita recital attendees; political row erupts“All of the accused have been arrested. This is West Bengal, not Uttar Pradesh. They beat up patty sellers. We arrested everyone last night,” Banerjee said at a public meeting in Krishnanagar, Nadia district, according to PTI.
The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief accused the opposition BJP of attempting to import a culture of ‘communal division’ into West Bengal and questioned the need to hold a mass event to recite the Bhagwat Gita.“I do not believe in communal divisions. I want to walk with all religions. What is the need to hold a public meeting just to read the Gita? Those who pray to God or seek blessings from Allah do so in their hearts,” Banerjee, who will seek a fourth consecutive term in the state polls in April-May 2026, added.She also criticised those ‘invoking religious texts for political mobilisation’: “I want to ask those who keep chanting ‘Gita, Gita’ — what did Sri Krishna say about dharma? Dharma means to uphold, not to divide. They want to destroy West Bengal. They want to capture the state and stop people from speaking in Bengali. We all read and recite the Gita. What is the need to hold a meeting for that?”Kolkata Police arrested three men on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting the vendors at the ‘Paanch Lokkho Konthe Gita Paath’ (Gita recitation in five lakh voices) at the city’s Brigade Parade Ground on December 7. According to officials, the arrests followed two complaints lodged at Maidan police station and verification of video footage and other evidence.The complainants, from Topsia in Kolkata and Arambagh in Hooghly district, had gone to sell chicken patties when they were allegedly attacked. The accused reportedly threw away their stock and forced them to perform sit-ups while holding their ears. A video of the incident went viral on social media.
