"The colour of communalism I do not believe in," the opening line of Mamata Banerjee's poem reads.
The verdict is out. A day after the BJP's landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections, headlined by a stunning performance in West Bengal, where it significantly improved its tally compared to 2014, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata posted a poem on Twitter with a blunt message for the ruling party. The title: "I don't agree".
In the strongly-worded poem written in Hindi, English and Bengali, the Trinamool Congress chief said that she does not believe in "the colour of communalism and selling religious aggression". Though she took no names, it was seen aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah, who she has repeatedly accused of polarising voters on religious lines.
"The colour of communalism I do not believe in. There is aggression and tolerance in every religion. I am a humble servant of the gentle Renaissance raised in Bengal. I don't believe in selling religious aggression, I believe in a religion that draws from humanism," she wrote.
Mamata Banerjee's poem also appeared to refer to the violence that took place in West Bengal during all the seven phases of voting, especially the street clashes after Amit Shah's roadshow in Kolkata, in which a statue of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasar was vandalised.
The BJP achieved a remarkable score in West Bengal, a long-term left stronghold turned Trinamool territory. It won 18 of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats, in a massive improvement over its 2014 tally of two seats. Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool won 22.
Over the last two years, BJP has had multiple confrontations with the West Bengal government, especially over rallies and marches on religious events.
PM Modi and Amit Shah campaigned aggressively in Bengal. PM and Mamata Banerjee traded names and accusations on various occasions. While he dubbed her as "speed-breaker didi", she retaliated by calling him "Expiry Babu", implying that his government was past its expiry date.