KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said religions have taught India to live in harmony and not take recourse to divide and rule.
The spirit of harmony was preached by Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Swami Vivekananda, Guru Nanak, Lord Buddha, Gandhiji and Netaji and others, she said.
"They have said we love a united India and we don't divide each other. We have travelled with so many gods and goddesses. From the period of Rennaissance to the freedom movement, our Hindu religion is universal," Banerjee said at a programme of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha.
"Hindu religion has taught us that we can't close our doors to others. It has taught us to greet everyone with open arms and also to show restraint and tolerance," she said.
The Trinamool Congress chief who had been severely critical of the Centre's move on citizenship said, "Our nation's welfare is our welfare. Our strength lies in unity in diversity."
Taking a jibe at the BJP, she said religion does not mean only loud sermons.
It teaches men to honour women and sisters, the chief minister said.
In 2018, Banerjee said, she wanted to go to the US on the occasion of 125 years of Swami Vivekananda's historic speech at Chicago.
"I was informed that the programme had been cancelled due to unavoidable circumstances. I know that pressure was created on the organisers as I had expressed my desire to visit that place," she claimed.