This Article is From Jun 03, 2019

Mamata Banerjee Updates Facebook, Twitter Profile Pic Amid Slogan Row

BJP supporters have been confronting Trinamool Congress leaders - even Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself - by shouting the "Jai Shri Ram" slogans after the BJP made inroads in Bengal.

Mamata Banerjee Updates Facebook, Twitter Profile Pic Amid Slogan Row

Mamata Banerjee has been targeted with "Jai Shri Ram" slogans since the Lok Sabha polls.

New Delhi:

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday changed her profile picture on Twitter and Facebook to 'Jai Hind, Jai Bangla' amid war of words with the BJP, which she has accused of creating unrest in West Bengal by "mixing religion with politics". 

The official handles of Mamata Banerjee's party, the Trinamool Congress, were also changed to 'Jai Hind, Jai Bangla' with pictures of Mahatma Gandhi, revolutionary leaders Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Matangini Hazra, Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore, and rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. Many leaders from her Trinamool Congress, including Derek O'Brien, have also updated their profile pictures.

The updated profile pictures are seen as Trinamool Congress's attempt to counter what it calls the BJP's "misconceived strategy of mixing religion with politics".

BJP supporters have been confronting Trinamool Congress leaders - even the Chief Minister herself - by shouting the "Jai Shri Ram" slogans after the BJP made inroads in Bengal in the recently-concluded national election. Mamata Banerjee had then objected to the religious slogan and accused the BJP of trying to create tension in the state.

A newly-elected BJP lawmaker from Bengal had even claimed that the party would send "10 lakh post cards with 'Jai Shri Ram' written on them" to the Trinamool Congress chief.

On Sunday, the Trinamool Congress, in a lengthy Facebook post, clarified that she does not have a problem with the slogan "Jai Shri Ram" but the way in which it is being used by BJP workers to "create unrest in West Bengal by mixing religion with politics".

Today, union minister Babul Supriyo, who was elected from Asansol, pressed on with his attack on West Bengal Chief Minister, saying that Ms Banerjee is "rattled by BJP's presence in Bengal". "She should keep in mind the dignity of the post she holds. She should take a break for a few days. She's rattled by BJP's presence in Bengal," said Mr Supriyo, who defeated the Trinamool Congress's Moon Moon Sen in Asansol in the national election.

The BJP's tally in the state went up from two seats to 18 in the recently-concluded general elections, while the Trinamool Congress scored marginally better with 22. The results are being seen as a harbinger of pitched battles that could happen in the assembly and local elections in the state.

.