KOLKATA: Taking a leaf out of a global playbook, where fashion has long been used as a political statement, Trinamool Congress has designed a T-shirt for its workers to flaunt and attack its opponent - BJP's Amit Shah.
The T-shirt bearing a cartoon picture of the BJP stalwart's face along with the caption 'India's Biggest Pappu' comes in several colours, white, black and yellow.
The BJP had branded Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with the epithet 'Pappu' which the Mamata Banerjee-led party is now trying to use to mock Shah.
The party is eager to make the most of this campaign during the coming Durga puja when a large number of people descend on roads for pandal hopping in all parts of West Bengal.
"Mocking is the most powerful form of communicating. It started from the comment made by our national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and it became a trend on social media. Then it came on T-shirts," the TMC's Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien told PTI.
While talking to reporters on September 2 after he was grilled for over seven hours by the ED in connection with a coal smuggling case, Abhishek Banerjee described Shah as 'India's Biggest Pappu'.
The very next day, Banerjee's cousins Akash Banerjee and Aditi Gayen posted photographs on social media wearing T-shirts with a cartoon of Shah and the slogan.
TMC sources said Abhishek Banerjee is guiding young party workers on new designs of the apparel which is sold at a 'nominal price' of around Rs 300 apiece.
"Initially, the T-shirts were available online. Now, one can get them in wholesale markets," O'Brien claimed.
Three to four designs are currently available now and more are coming to hit the market ahead of the Durga puja festival, said the MP who himself posted still photos and a video donning such a T-shirt in white colour.
The video, shot near the Parliament building, was shared on his Twitter handle.
"College students and young party enthusiasts who are not more than 25 years old are creating those t-shirts. They do not want to be named. But the designs, I would say, are mind-blowing," O'Brien said.
The MP also wore the t-shirt on a flight from Kolkata to Delhi.
Several people posted their photos on social media donning those t-shirts seeking to lampoon Shah.
"The Congress should like this campaign. The BJP used this term to mock their leader. Now the BJP is getting back their own medicine," O'Brien said.
Reacting to such a campaign, senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha claimed that this "personal attack" would be a flop show.
"The TMC has no issue to fight the BJP. That is why they are targeting people personally. It shows that the party is heading towards the end," Sinha said.
Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday criticised the opposition BJP for questioning the Bengal government's decision to provide financial assistance to Durga Puja clubs, wondering why no questions were raised when thousands of crores of rupees of public money was spent to install a statue in Gujarat.
Last month, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced an assistance of Rs 60,000 to each community Durga Puja organiser, up from Rs 50,000 given last year.
The decision has been challenged in court.
"The BJP claimed that Mamata Banerjee doesn't allow Durga Puja. But the party's leaders had to eat their words after Durga Puja received recognition from UNESCO. Now they are making an issue over the financial assistance being provided to clubs," he said, addressing a party programme here.
Both the saffron party and the Left Front had criticised Banerjee's decision to hike assistance, and said the government, "which is under financial stress as claimed by TMC leaders", should not indulge in such dole politics using public money.
The TMC national general secretary wondered why the saffron camp was mum when thousands of crores of rupees were spent for building statue of unity in Gujarat.
"And why shouldn't Mamata Banerjee support the Durga Puja clubs in Bengal? BJP leaders seems to be having a problem with Mamata Banerjee supporting these clubs financially. They, however, don't have a problem with spending crores of rupees of public money for building a statue in Gujarat," he said.
The Diamond Harbour MP said Durga Puja is Bengal's pride and the saffron camp should "stop hurting the sentiments" of the people of Bengal.
Senior TMC leader and MP Kalyan Banerjee raised eyebrows on Thursday as he said that his party workers could "crush the hands of opposition BJP activists" on being threatened or intimidated.
He made the assertion at the special organisational meeting of the TMC with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee present on the dais.
The BJP was quick to hit back, stating that remarks made by him reflect the "party's psche".
The chief minister, too, said later that the MP "spoke in a language of his own and she can't be doing the same.
Calling the CM his "role model in politics", the TMC MP said he would keep saying whatever he felt was right even if others "demonized" him for speaking his mind.
"Didi (Mamata Banerjee) asked me to remain calm; that is why we have maintained a peaceful atmosphere. But if a BJP leader or a worker points a finger at us and threatens to break our hands, if someone dares to raise hands to hit us, we, the TMC workers, can crush those hands," he said.
A professional lawyer and a three-time MP from the Sreerampore seat in Hooghly district, the parliamentarian said he was not bothered about what others think of him.
"I can't speak in sign language. I am not bothered about what others think of me. If someone hits my party worker, I won't spare that person," he added.
The TMC boss, during her speech, maintained that party's public representatives and leaders should be careful of what they say in public.
"Kalyan has spoken in a language of his own. I can't speak that language. But few leaders (of opposition) are threatening to chop off arms, legs, and heads. They should know that's not how politics is practiced. Everybody should be careful when they speak in public," she said.
BJP leader Silbhadra Dutta, meanwhile, slammed the TMC MP over his remarks and said that the kind of comments TMC leaders have been making "reflect the psyche of the party, which is neck deep in corruption".
supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said the party would not cower in fear in the face of "threat of arrest" by central agencies, and urged party workers to accord arrested party leader Anubrata Mondal a hero's welcome when he comes out of jail.
The feisty TMC boss, addressing a special session of party leaders, warned them against making recommendations for jobs, "as it might draw the wrath of the central agencies that work as pets of the BJP".
Asking party workers to maintain discipline, she also urged them to be careful of what they speak in public and continue working for people, "not themselves".
"Politics is not easy. We fought for 34 years to defeat the CPI (M). Now we are fighting against the BJP. They think we can be threatened by use of ED and CBI. They are wrong. Yesterday, Moloy Ghatak fought and said that everything was a lie. Anubrata Mondal is unwell, and before every election, his movements are restricted," she pointed out.
Ghatak, the state's law minister, was grilled by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at his official residence on Wednesday as searches were carried out at several premises linked to the TMC leader in connection with a coal smuggling case.
The minister said that attempts were being made to malign his image.
Unlike the case of Partha Chatterjee, who was shown the door by the party following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a school recruitment scam, Banerjee has stood by Mondal, who the CBI arrested during its probe in a cattle smuggling case.
"If they think these measures will help them (BJP) secure two Lok Sabha seats in Birbhum district, they are wrong. Those who are from Birbhum should intensify the fight till Anubrata is back. Give him a hero's welcome when he returns from jail," she said.
In an apparent reference to the cash and jewellery recovered from Chatterjee's alleged associate Arpita Mukherjee's residence, Banerjee wondered if "has anything been proven yet" in the matter.
Hitting out at a section of media for its "concocted reports" of infighting in the TMC, the party supremo said there were no such differences in the camp.
"A section of media behaves like vultures, ready to pounce upon us. They refuse to see the good and continue defaming us. They are trying various tricks to create rifts among us. They even talk about a rift between Abhishek Banerjee and me. They don't understand that we will never be divided," she said.
Lashing out the central probe agencies, Banerjee said, "Every morning they (CBI and ED officials) wake up, take orders and decide on targeting Moloy Ghatak, Aroop Biswas, Firhad Hakim.
Even Abhishek's two-year-old child has made trips to the CBI office because the kid did not want to leave his mother as he was summoned.
Claiming that the BJP leaders were "liars", she said that the saffron party had promised bullet trains, but it "spreads lies" faster than those trains.
"An injured lion is more threatening than a dead lion. If you don't hurt me, I won't attack. But if you threaten, I will retaliate and still rise," she asserted.
Talking about her government's preparations to hire 89,000 teachers, the CM warned ministers and MLAs against putting up any requests or recommendations for jobs under official letterheads.
"District BJP leaders are in touch with IB, we should be careful. Be on alert," she told the party leaders.
The TMC boss requested party workers to toil harder to reach out to the masses.
Only those who are deserving would be given party tickets for rural polls, she added.
Leader of Opposition in Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari faced black flag protests on Thursday during a rally at Tarakeswar in Hooghly district.
A police officer said a group of people waved black flags at the procession, prompting the saffron party members to charge the agitators.
The situation, however, was soon brought under control, he said.
BJP activists claimed that TMC workers were trying to disrupt the rally, which was held to flay the TMC regime over allegations of corruption, with senior leader Rahul Sinha also alleging that the participants were also pelted with stones.
A senior TMC leader, however, denied the allegations.
Sinha claimed, "The TMC is scared, the party can sense the swelling public anger against its establishment. They are resorting to violence, targeting BJP leaders like Suvendu Adhikari. But people are with us."
Saffron party members have been taking out rallies in various parts of the state as a precursor to mega 'Nabanna Abhijan', march to the secretariat, on September 13, seeking the ouster of "scam-tainted" TMC leaders.
Adhikari was not available for comment.
Rebuffing Sinha's allegation, TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen said it was the BJP that engineered the disturbances in Tarakeshwar during the day.
"The BJP knows it has no support base. Hence they are desperate to foment disturbances and create lawlessness in Bengal. TMC activists were not involved in any way in today's incident," Sen insisted.
He also said that the "people of the state are with TMC and communal, fascist forces like the BJP would find no place in West Bengal despite their diabolical conspiracies to dislodge the democratically elected Mamata Banerjee government".