
‘Self-declared protectors of Hinduism' are mocking Jagannath temple: Abhishek
1
2
3
Kolkata: Taking on
BJP
on Wednesday,
Trinamool Congress
national general secretary
Abhishek Banerjee
asked how "self-declared protectors of Hinduism" could mock the Jagannath temple.
"Suvendu Adhikari mocks it. Sukanta Majumdar called it a circus.
This is coming from BJP netas who claim to be saviours of Hinduism. I am thankful to Mamata Banerjee and Bengal govt for the Jagannath temple, else people would not see BJP's true face," he said at a public rally at Satgachia in South 24 Parganas.
Singling out state leader of opposition Adhikari, Abhishek said: "Since this element joined BJP, the party has not won a single election. BJP lost all 11 bypolls in Bengal (since 2021).
He might become a grandfather but will never be able to remove Trinamool from people's hearts in the next 50 years. If you have the courage, fight. Otherwise, shut your mouth and go home and sleep. The more you attack, the stronger Trinamool will become.
"
You Can Also Check:
Kolkata AQI
|
Weather in Kolkata
|
Bank Holidays in Kolkata
|
Public Holidays in Kolkata
The MP said BJP would be reduced to 50 seats in the 2026 assembly elections. "In 2021, BJP's count stopped at 77. I promise that in 2026, the count will be under 50. I do not make predictions, but whatever I say turns into reality by God's grace...
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Top 5 Dividend Stocks for May 2025
Seeking Alpha
Read More
Undo
I said Trinamool's seats would increase in 2024, and that became true... We lost 3 seats by a very small margin of votes — Bishnupur by 5,000, Purulia by 17,000, and BJP's talkative president Sukanta Majumdar won by 9,000 votes.
If he does politics for 50 years and contests 10 elections, even then his margin will not come near 7.1 lakh, which I got in Diamond Harbour," he said.
Attacking BJP for equating the Trinamool-led govt in Bengal with the caretaker administration in Bangladesh, Abhishek said: "If someone speaks in Bengali, they are called Bangladeshi.
If someone wears a turban, they are labelled Khalistani. What hatred! This divisive politics was never seen in Bengal. To please a few people from Gujarat and MP, some of Bengal's unworthy sons have sold their spines. But the people of Bengal have responded appropriately.
"
He also referred to the fact that at the time he was touring southeast Asia as part of an MP delegation after Operation Sindoor, "the PM and home minister were busy spreading unrest in Bengal with their divisive politics".
"Who, then, are the real anti-nationals?" Abhishek said.
Questioning BJP's "double standards", he said, "In the RG Kar case, BJP and CPM demanded the resignation of then Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Goyal. Why are they not seeking the resignation of home minister Amit Shah and IB director Tapan Deka for Pahalgam? Twenty-six people were killed by four terrorists who crossed the border with AK-47s and shot them in broad daylight. They escaped, and the central govt has no clue where they went.
Who is responsible for border security and IB, CRPF, CISF? If you demanded Mamata Banerjee's resignation over RG Kar, why shouldn't we demand Amit Shah's resignation for Pahalgam?"
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Work, not vote bank: Why Gadkari won't let elections dictate development
At a time when much of government decision-making seems moulded around election cycles, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari says he refuses to play that game. In a recent interview with Business Standard, the senior BJP leader emphasised that his approach to governance is not shaped by the prospect of votes but by merit-based policy and long-term national interest. 'I didn't keep targets keeping elections in mind,' Gadkari said. 'My value system didn't allow me to think about elections while working.' Why Nitin Gadkari says governance shouldn't be timed to elections While such declarations are not uncommon in politics, they are rarely seen in practice. It is routine for governments to front-load schemes — subsidies, handouts, or infrastructure projects — just ahead of elections to maximise voter goodwill. In this context, Gadkari said his indifference to electoral timing stood out. In a candid chat with Business Standard, Gadkari shared why politics shouldn't come in the way of policy, claiming to have told constituents to vote for him only if they were satisfied with his work; otherwise, not at all. 'I told people in my constituency that if they were happy with my work, they should vote for me. If they weren't, it was alright. I would still work for them. This didn't come from a place of arrogance — I was humble,' he said. 'Think from century to century', not five-year terms The three-time Member of Parliament also quoted the late Dattopant Thengadi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue from Vidarbha: 'Every politician thinks about his next election for five years, but every socio-economic reformer and nation builder thinks from century to century.' For Gadkari, infrastructure — particularly road building — is not just a logistical pursuit, but a transformational one. His target of building 100 km of roads a day was, by his own admission, 'almost impossible', but he insisted on chasing it. As vote-bank politics rises, Nitin Gadkari chooses long-term goals National parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress, have frequently been accused of offering pre-election handouts or 'freebies' to sway voters. This includes announcements ranging from welfare schemes to infrastructure investments. Ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made cleaning the Yamuna a key poll promise — its first time giving the issue central importance, despite past political deadlock between the state and central governments. The BJP countered with schemes like the Mahila Samridhi Yojana, offering ₹2,500 per month to women — ₹400 more than AAP's offer. In the 2025 Budget, Bihar, set to go to polls later this year, received significant attention, including ₹59,000 crore for roads, power, and flood management, in addition to multiple new projects. Assam, which holds Assembly elections in 2026, was the only other state mentioned in the Budget speech, with a new 1.27 million-tonne urea plant announced for Namrup. ALSO READ | Builder, not a campaigner: Nitin Gadkari on his role In the midst of this, Gadkari wants to be seen as a builder, not a campaigner, with a long-term vision. He said he told voters to re-elect him only if they thought he had done a good job. However, he acknowledged, 'I could work only because people voted for me', while also stating that governance should not be reduced to a vote-gathering exercise. That stance, of course, is also politically useful. In a landscape where cynicism about political motives runs deep, presenting oneself as above the fray can serve as a powerful brand. Genuine or not, the approach has worked. Gadkari still leads a key ministry, builds roads at a record pace, and champions merit. 'We were trying to make our policies better and straighten out issues so that execution of projects was faster,' Gadkari stated.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
One Nation, One Poll: JPC to meet July 11; key legal consultations on cards
This is an AI-generated image, used for representational purposes only. NEW DELHI: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the 'One Nation, One Poll' initiative is scheduled to meet on July 11, 2025, at the Parliament House Annexe in New Delhi. The panel, headed by BJP MP PP Chaudhary, will hold consultations with legal experts and former officials as part of its ongoing deliberations on the proposed constitutional reforms, reported news agency ANI. The meeting is a part of the broader exercise to examine the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aim to enable simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The committee's next phase involves seeking feedback from legal and institutional stakeholders to refine its recommendations. The proposed legislation, introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2024, would allow the President to issue a notification on the date of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha, likely in 2029, to fix the schedule for future simultaneous elections. Under the plan, assemblies elected after 2029 would have terms ending with the five-year term of that Lok Sabha, aligning all future polls by 2034. PP Chaudhary has earlier stated that assemblies elected in 2032, including Uttar Pradesh's, may have shortened tenures to match the national cycle. 'Tenures of assemblies may be reduced to two or three years to ensure that all elections are held together in 2034,' Chaudhary had explained. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo The 39-member committee includes 27 Lok Sabha MPs and 12 Rajya Sabha MPs, with representation from across the political spectrum. Notable members include BJP's Anurag Thakur and Bansuri Swaraj, Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Manish Tewari, and NCP's Supriya Sule. The committee has so far visited Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, with plans to tour more states and Union Territories before finalising its report. The government has maintained that holding simultaneous elections will streamline governance, reduce the frequency and cost of polls, and minimise policy paralysis caused by the Model Code of Conduct. However, critics, including several opposition parties, have flagged concerns over its impact on India's federal structure and the autonomy of state governments. The July 11 meeting is expected to offer further clarity on the legal and logistical roadmap for implementing the 'One Nation, One Election' framework, a key priority of the Modi government.


Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Ram Madhav: ‘Even with 8% growth India will reach nowhere… It needs over 10% for 20 years'
Senior BJP leader Ram Madhav's new book, 'The New World: 21st Century Global Order and India', was recently launched at an event in the national capital. In an interview with The Indian Express, Madhav speaks on various issues ranging from India's bid for the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)'s permanent membership to the need for building the brand Bharat. Excerpts: India should consider its immediate neighbourhood and extended neighbourhood including ASEAN as its priority. Indians have a habit. They think that their utmost priority is the relationship with America and Europe. Nobody denies it's an important relationship. But your interests are today in your neighborhood and extended neighbourhood in the East, because that is where in fact you face China's challenge. So my point is that India is not going to get (UNSC) permanent membership alone. Whenever India gets it, although India has a rightful claim to it, another five countries will come. So there will be 10-12 permanent members in the Security Council, and assume that all 10 have a veto. Can the Security Council function with five? It is not able to function. It's not able to make a single decision. Forget about a big decision. If you want to designate one fellow as a terrorist, international terrorist, we are not able to achieve it because China will block it. India has to think beyond those institutions. That is where regional leadership becomes important. It's a very important requirement, especially in the Indian Ocean region, where India enjoys very strong natural ties. We call America our natural ally. We would call Indonesia our natural ally. When Prime Minister Modi went there, he and Indonesia President inaugurated a big statue of Gitopadesha in the main square of Jakarta. Why don't you call Indonesia your natural ally? So I mentioned to you about this romanticism of people in India in general. For example, we assume that we are already a Vishwaguru, no doubt. But for you to be really effective you have to be a strong economic power first. In the 20th century old world order, the economy was tied to trade. In the 21st century, remember, the economy is tied to technology. Our economy is growing very fast. You will see that we have reached 8% growth, which is a very good thing for India. But even with 8% growth also we will reach nowhere in the next 20 years. You have to cross 10%, 10% consistently, for 20 years. No country in the world has achieved this, but in the last 75 years India has not achieved it even in one year. If India really wants to become a big player, it has to forget everything else, and focus on the economy. So what happened in the last world order was that because of people like Hitler and Mussolini, the liberals in the West had made nationalism a bad sentiment and created a kind of a liberal international order. The new order will see a big change in that nationalism will come back as a respected ideology. Today, nationalism is making a comeback in country after country. What is MAGA or 'Making America Great Again'? It is the American version of that nationalist sentiment. China is a staunchly nationalist country today. Yes, we think China is communist, everybody knows it's very nationalist. We are also a country that takes pride in its sovereign national identity, and that same thing is happening in Europe. So one big shift will be from that international liberal attitude to a nationalist sentiment. But as a reaction, what's happening is that the liberals are going towards extreme liberalism, which is wokeism, in order to counter the rise of this nationalist or sovereign sentiment. Trump's victory of that scale he secured in the last year's election was also because of people's opposition to rising wokeism. People are scared that this wokeism will destroy our families, our whole systems. When we become big, what is it that we offer to the world in terms of a certain value system? When America became big, it offered you a certain liberal ideology, which also included western institutions, western language, western customs. When China is becoming big and influential, it's offering a kind of political system that is dominant, dictatorial. It gives you all economic goodies, but no political freedom. What will be India's contribution? Firstly, we are always a very democratic people, not because we adopted democracy in 1947 or 1950 through our Constitution. Ambedkar himself used to say that India has traditionally been democratic. So we shall always uphold democracy as a value. But together with democracy, we have to offer certain values, like family. We actually consider the whole world as a family. Environment protection is a very liberal idea in the West. Conservatives don't care about the environment, but we care about the environment. The Prime Minister's biggest contribution in the very beginning in terms of ideas and values was giving yoga to the whole world. So India has to work on those ideas. Indian intellectuals, Indian scholars, have to work on those ideas. So I ended my book by saying that this brand Bharat is something that India has to seriously think about. Otherwise, you will become a carbon copy of a developed country. I don't want to demean anybody. We have great intellectuals, but they don't give original ideas. We are happy reading here, reading there, except reading our own. The West has writers who contribute original ideas. Among the top 10 books with original ideas, not a single Indian book will be there. In R and D and innovation we are very weak. Despite the Prime Minister's great push, what we call innovation in India, I'm sorry to say, is just imitation. Wars in this century will be very different. They will be fought in a manner that at the end of the day, you will not be able to determine who is a winner and who is a loser. Because here, war is not just what you are fighting, but also what you are telling the world, what you call propaganda war and perception management. Whether the US succeeded in their real aim of taking away the capability of making nuclear weapons from Iran is the question. You claim so but there is a counterclaim by Iranians that their capabilities are intact. That applies to Operation Sindoor too. We had a decisively strong response to terror that emanates from Pakistan. But together with that, for the management of global perception, all-party delegations were sent. Domestic Opposition has been silenced now because the very same Opposition went and told the world that, no, we punished the terrorists. It's a brilliant move by the Prime Minister. As for the caste census, the Indian economy has a major welfare component today. Maybe having good data helps in implementing your programmes more effectively. So today, for example, we have schemes for OBCs. We are looking at them as a group, but they're not any homogeneous group. So who is moving forward, who is still remaining backward? Who needs more support? All these things become easy for the government if they have the data before them. So far as delimitation is concerned, I have heard the Home Minister (Amit Shah) clearly saying that there won't be any injustice done to any region or state. I'm sure whenever that is undertaken, it will be a kind of a pro-rata system or something where somebody who is performing well is not punished. Anyway, it is a couple of years away.