Irony that BJP invokes Bengal icons as party's vision does not match their ideals: TMC leader

The ruling TMC in West Bengal onMonday said that the BJP's attempts to invoke Bengal's icons,such as Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, for politicalgains are ''ironical'' in nature, as ideals of these luminariesdo not match with the saffron party's vision and objectives.

Speaking to reporters here, on the eve of SwamiVivekananda's birthday, senior TMC leader Bratya Basu recalledthat Sri Ramakrishna had once said ''jato mat, tato path'',which means multiple views lead to multiple avenues -- inshort, pluralism -- ''something that the saffron camp does notsubscribe to''.

''The BJP talking about them is nothing short of anirony as the party does not believe in Ramakrishna's way ofthinking. Even Swami Vivekananda had said 'those who lovehumanity serve the God','' Basu, also a state minister, said On the contrary, TMC supremo and Chief Minister MamataBanerjee has paid tribute to these eminent personalities byrestoring their residences, and also made arrangements tohonour them on occasions, the minister stated.

The CM, however, was thwarted from delivering speechesat Oxford Union and Chicago, ''for reasons which are not knownto us'', he said.

The Oxford Union had in December 2020 postponedBanerjee's virtual address at the eleventh hour, citingunforeseen circumstances.

The TMC leadership, infuriated over the development,had claimed that ''political pressure'' might have forced theorganisers to take such a call.

In 2018, the feisty TMC supremo's scheduled programmeat Chicago on the occasion of Swami Vivekananda's birthanniversary was also cancelled.