Purba Medinipur (West Bengal) [India], March 22 : Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly and BJP candidate from Bhabanipur and Nandigram Assembly constituencies, Suvendu Adhikari, accused some anti-social elements vandalised the statue of Lord Ram ahead of Ram Navami celebrations in Nandigram.
BJP leaders held a protest over the alleged vandalism.
Speaking to ANI, Adhikari lashed out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of backing "goons" for her vote bank. He alleged that the Trinamool Congress government in the state is against the Hindus.
He said, "Jihadis have vandalised the statue of Lord Ram, which was being sculpted ahead of the Rama Navami celebrations. The state government is against Hindus. Some anti-social elements always do these kinds of acts to disturb the situation ahead of the Hindu festivals. Even Muslims are part of our procession; they don't carry out such acts. Mamata Banerjee has created some goons for her vote bank; they do that."
This comes after Adhikari shared a video of an allegedly vandalised sculpture and alleged that unknown people destroyed the statue last night in Nandigram.
In an X post, the BJP leader wrote, "Incidents of jihadist attacks on idols of gods and goddesses and temples of Sanatanis in West Bengal are not new. These incidents have now become an everyday occurrence. This time, the incident took place in Nandigram. At booth number 122 in Bheturia, Block No. 2 of Nandigram, the work of creating an idol of Lord Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram was underway at the Bheturia Bus Stand on the occasion of Shri Ram Navami Puja. The idol's work was nearly complete, but in the darkness of last night, some jihadists came and severed the head of Lord Shri Ramchandra's idol and took it away."
Alleging appeasement politics by CM Mamata, he added, "This jihadist attack on the faith and beliefs of Sanatanis is only increasing in the state due to Mamata's government's appeasement politics and the shameless inaction of the Mamata administration. It has become imperative to bid farewell to this government immediately; otherwise, even worse circumstances await Sanatanis in this state in the coming days."
"Therefore, while there is still time, all Sanatanis must unite, form an alliance, and bid farewell to this government that appeases the jihadists," the post read.
This comes amid Legislative Assembly elections in the state, where Suvendu Adhikari is set to contest from Nandigram, where he defeated Mamata Banerjee in 2021, and from Bhabanipur, the constituency currently held by the TMC chief.
West Bengal will hold polling for the elections in two phases, with the first phase scheduled on April 23 and the second phase on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 4.
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