Markandey Katju slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on her Muslim appeasement policies. The retired Supreme Court judge called her Muslim appeasement ‘shameless’ and even said that by doing all this she is actually helping the BJP in West Bengal.
By continuous & shameless appeasement of Muslims Mamata Banerji is ensuring that all Hindus in West Bengal will unite behind BJP.
— Markandey Katju (@mkatju) April 12, 2017
While the reason for his attack remains unclear but it could be attributed to the lathicharge that some members of the Hindu community had to bear in West Bengal. The Suri, Birbhum district of West Bengal saw the lathicharge on 11th April after Hindu Jagran Manch supporters took out a rally on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. They allegedly defied restriction and prohibitory orders.
The Muslim appeasement charge of Katju will also remind one of the Kanglapahari issue, where for last four years 300 hundred Hindu families were unable to perform the Durga Puja during the Navratri. This Hindu-dominated village has a few Muslims as well and they were refusing to allow the puja celebrations.
Needless to say that people agreed with Katju’s take on the issue and believed that Muslim appeasement helped BJP storm to power.
@mkatju In fact most of the states BJP got strong only because of continuous Muslim appeasement in the name of minority welfare!
— Suresh Babu (@cdrsuresh) April 13, 2017
Meanwhile, BJP leader Giriraj Singh condemned the lathicharge on the Hanuman Bhakts and wondered in which hole was the intolerance brigade hiding.
West Bengal has seen many communal skirmishes and independent Hindu groups such as the Hindu Samhati have seen an increase with the number of people joining them. But Mamata has repeatedly denied that she appeases anyone and has instead attacked BJP on communalism.
But Mamata Banerjee is not alone:
So perhaps, this charge is best levied on opportunistic politicians instead of an individual who is merely following the footsteps of those who set the path.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday the Parliament condemned the BJP youth leader who had announced a Rs 11-lakh bounty on Mamata’s head.
#DidiInDomkal pic.twitter.com/jaLH50v8pD
— AITC (@AITCofficial) April 12, 2017
Yogesh Varshney, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, made the bounty offer after saying that Banerjee does not allow processions and fairs during Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti but organizes Iftar party and unequivocally supports Muslims. In short, whether one likes it or not or believes that the charge of Muslim appeasement is valid or not, yet it has the potential to create acrimony among different groups. Neutral administration is the way forward.
