Kolkata:
Events slicing throughout the political divide in West Bengal on Thursday evoked Bengali sub-nationalism, asserting that the “vilification marketing campaign” in opposition to actor Rhea Chakraborty “proved” Bengalis are a gentle goal of the BJP, which is trying to money in on this narrative forward of the Bihar Meeting polls.
Bengali sub-nationalism can also be slowly rising as a rallying cry forward of the West Bengal Meeting elections due subsequent yr.
The ruling TMC and opposition Congress and the CPI(M), regardless of their sharp political variations, have equivocally slammed the saffron social gathering for “utilizing” a Bengali lady as a “gentle goal” to attain brownie factors within the run as much as the Bihar polls later this yr.
The BJP management, nonetheless, has declined to touch upon the accusation.
“If somebody has dedicated against the law, the individual must be punished as per legislation. However even earlier than being confirmed responsible, the type of vilification marketing campaign that was seen on social media in opposition to Bengali ladies stems from the hatred for the Bengali neighborhood.
“The BJP and its frontal organisation have been spearheading this marketing campaign,” Chakraborty stated.
The TMC stated BJP’s inherent dislike for Bengalis has once more come out within the open as a result of Rhea Chakraborty episode.
“I really feel that as Rhea is a Bengali, she was victimised even earlier than she was confirmed responsible in court docket. The vilification marketing campaign as soon as once more proves the sheer hatred of the BJP in the direction of the Bengalis. We had witnessed one thing comparable within the Assam NRC, too,” senior TMC chief and nationwide spokesperson Saugata Roy stated.
On Wednesday, Chief of the Congress in Lok Sabha and newly appointed West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had described her arrest over drug fees as “ludicrous”.
“Rhea’s father is a former army officer who served the nation. Rhea is a Bengali Brahmin girl; justice to actor Sushant Singh Rajput shouldn’t be interpreted as justice to a Bihari.
“The daddy of Rhea can also be entitled to demand justice for his children, trial by media is an ominous portent for our judicial system. Justice for all is among the primary tenets of our Structure,” he had stated in a sequence of tweets.
Mr Chowdhury stated Mr Rajput was an Indian actor, however the “BJP turned him right into a Bihari actor” solely to attain electoral brownie factors.
“Rhea Chakroborty has been indicted not for abetment of suicide or homicide or any financial offences; she has been arrested beneath NDPS, ludicrous,” he stated.
Narratives themed round ”Bengali satisfaction” and ”natives versus outsiders” are slowly gaining momentum, with varied outfits elevating the pitch for reservation for domicile Bengalis in jobs and training within the state, the place, till just a few years in the past, cultural sub-nationalism was an alien idea.
The most recent so as to add gas to the hearth was the alleged on-line vilification of Bengali ladies within the aftermath of Mr Rajput’s demise, with many followers of the late actor calling his rumoured girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and others from the neighborhood “gold diggers” and “witches”.
After the electoral reverses within the Lok Sabha polls final yr and the rise of the BJP as a primary contender for energy, TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has typically invoked Bengali sub-nationalism, and referred to as the BJP a celebration of “outsiders”.
“The best way BJP had attacked Bengali ladies displays its hatred for our sisters and daughters. The BJP, which is dreaming of capturing energy in Bengal, does not have an iota of respect for Bengal or Bengalis,” Kaushik Maiti, a senior chief of ”Bangla Pokkho”, an organisation preventing for the rights of Bengalis, stated.
When contacted, BJP nationwide secretary Rahul Sinha declined to touch upon the matter.
After three days of interrogation, the Narcotics Management Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday arrested Ms Chakraborty, 28, in a medication case linked to Mr Rajput’s demise, following which she was despatched to judicial custody until September 22 by a neighborhood court docket.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
