New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has sharply criticised Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement linking the Ram Temple’s consecration to India’s “true independence,” igniting a heated exchange between the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Banerjee labelled the remark “anti-national” and a “dangerous attempt to distort history.
“This is anti-national. I strongly condemn this. This is a dangerous remark, it should be withdrawn. This is an attempt to distort history. We are dedicated to keeping our Independence intact, ready to sacrifice our lives for India, but not to tolerate this,” Banerjee told reporters at state secretariat Nabanna.
Bhagwat’s controversial statement, made at an RSS event in Indore, proposed celebrating the Ram Temple consecration date as “Pratishtha Dwadashi,” marking the “true independence” of Bharat. He claimed India had faced centuries of “enemy attacks” and only achieved true independence with the temple’s consecration.
Banerjee vehemently condemned this interpretation, emphasising her commitment to upholding India’s independence and readiness to sacrifice for the nation. She called for the withdrawal of Bhagwat’s statement, considering it a dangerous manipulation of historical facts.
This condemnation follows a similar critique from Congress leader and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who, during the inauguration of the Congress’s Delhi office, stated that such a remark would have led to arrest in any other country.
Gandhi accused the RSS and BJP of insulting every Indian with this statement and urged people to reject such “nonsense.” He further accused the RSS and BJP of capturing national institutions, forcing the Congress to fight against the “Indian State itself.”
“To say India did not get independence in 1947 is an insult to every single Indian, and it is about time we stop listening to this nonsense…” Gandhi raged in an all-out attack on the BJP.
The BJP responded swiftly to Gandhi’s accusations, alleging close ties between the Congress, “urban Naxals,” and a “Deep State,” which they claim aims to discredit India. BJP chief JP Nadda accused the Congress of historically supporting forces that seek to weaken India, driven by a “greed for power.”
“The Congress has a history of encouraging forces that want a weak India. Their greed for power meant compromising the nation’s integrity and betraying the trust of the people. But the people of India… decided they will always reject this rotten ideology,” BJP chief JP Nadda said.
