‘Won’t force you to say Jai Shri Ram’: Suvendu Adhikari reaches out to Nandigram minorities

West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday made a direct pitch to minority voters in Nandigram, saying the BJP would not force them to chant “Jai Shri Ram” and that they could instead say “Bharat Mata ki Jai” as he sought their support in the October 6 bypoll.

Addressing a rally at Birulia Bazar, an area with a sizeable Muslim population, Adhikari said minority voters would gain little by continuing to turn away from the BJP, claiming that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had “ceased to exist”.

'We don't force you to say Jai Shri Ram'

Making his appeal to minority voters, Adhikari said they could choose not to chant the BJP's familiar slogan.

"This is the best time to extend your hand of friendship towards us. October 6 is an auspicious day. You won't get a better opportunity to hold our hands as friends. Yes, we chant 'Jai Shree Ram', but we don't force you to do it. You can choose not to and just say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'," news agency PTI quoted Adhikari as saying.

He made similar appeals at two other rallies in Nandigram, in Purba Medinipur district, which he vacated after winning the assembly election from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur.

At Debipur, Adhikari said he would be present in Nandigram on counting day and urged minority voters to join hands with his government.

"Make friendship, we will walk together; you will also be a partner in the development work."

At another meeting in Narayanchak, the chief minister said it was up to minority voters to decide whether they wanted to “make friendship” with him, while pointing out that they had not voted for him in the 2021 and 2026 assembly elections.

He also said minorities were among the beneficiaries of schemes such as PM Awaas and Annapurna Yojana in Nandigram.

Attack on TMC, Mamata-Abhishek

Adhikari was campaigning for BJP candidate Hasirani Rath, the mother of his former personal assistant Chandranath Rath, who was shot dead on the outskirts of Kolkata on May 6, a day after the assembly election results.

Adhikari alleged that Chandranath was targeted because he worked with him and claimed that the CBI had already arrested people in connection with the murder.

"Chandranath's only crime was that he was my aide. His shooters were from Uttar Pradesh, who were employed by men from Munger in Bihar. Chandranath's close aide had fixed the hit and delivered ₹2 crore for the job, which was supplied by the 'bhaipo' (nephew) gang," he said.

"The CBI has already made arrests and has completed 90 per cent of the job. Only the Diamond Harbour company remains to be formally linked to the crime," Adhikari said.

‘Twin flower symbol no longer exists’

The chief minister also attacked the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, claiming that the party's name and symbol had been erased from the state.

"When I went to collect the certificate of the winning candidate from Nandigram on May 4, I had said that there would be no name or symbol of the TMC. The aunt-nephew duo's dry grass and twin flower symbol no longer exist. The chhinnamool (rootless, an apparent wordplay on Trinamool) people tried hard on the EVMs. The people have driven Mamata Banerjee's party out," Adhikari said.

His remarks came against the backdrop of the Election Commission allotting different names and symbols to the two TMC factions contesting the bypolls.

Adhikari claimed the TMC, which had received substantial minority support in Nandigram in earlier elections, had effectively become non-existent after the split.