KOLKATA: Reacting for the first time to two BJP leaders' hate speeches, which triggered diplomatic outrage from Gulf countries, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday condemned the hate speech and demanded the immediate arrests of the leaders for their "atrocious" remarks referring to Islam and the Prophet.
"I strongly seek that the accused leaders of BJP be arrested immediately so that the unity of the country is not disturbed and people at large do not face mental agony," Mamata tweeted.
Following the diplomatic outrage overseas, the BJP on Sunday took action on two of its leaders and suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal over their comments and issued a statement asserting that it ‘’respects all religions’’ and ‘’strongly denounces insults of any religious personality’’.
Taking to Twitter, Mamata wrote, ‘’I condemn the recent heinous and atrocious hate speech remarks by a few disastrous BJP leaders, resulting in not only spread of violence but also division of the fabric of the country, leading to disturbance of peace and amity.’’
In her message on the micro-blogging platform, the Bengal CM appealed to maintain peace. ’’At the same time, I appeal to all my brothers and sisters from all castes, creeds, religions and communities to maintain peace in the larger interest of the common people, despite the provocation which we so strongly condemn,’’ she tweeted.
An organisation of Imams in Bengal, the Imam Association of Bengal, circulated a video-clip urging to protest against hate speech. The message given by Yah Yah Khan, the president of the association, urged all Imams across the state to stage demonstrations at mosques after Friday’s namaaz session. Khan also demanded the immediate arrest of Nupur and Jindal.
Irked by the hate-speech, hundreds of people of minority community staged demonstrations squatting on arterial thoroughfares in Howrah district on Thursday. Protesters put up roadblocks on the national highway in Howrah's Bagnan and Uluberia demanding arrests of Nupur and Jindal.
The Bengal CM’s reaction over the issue of hate speech came shortly after the protests.
The minority community has proved to be the ruling Trinamool Congress’s strong vote bank in previous elections since 2011. The community supported Mamata’s party en bloc in all the electoral exercises in the recent past.