As Narendra Modi gears up to take his oath as the Prime Minister of India for a second consecutive term, many dignitaries across the globe were expected in attendance. The invites were sent out a few days ago, one of which was also to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.
“I have spoken to a couple of other chief ministers and have decided to attend it. There are certain ceremonial programmes under the Constitution. We try to attend such events when we get an invitation for the swearing-in programmes of the president and the prime minister,” Banerjee said in a statement.
This however didn’t last long and she released another statement declining the invitation. "The oath-taking ceremony is an august occasion to celebrate democracy, not one that should be devalued by any political party which uses it as an opportunity to score political points," she said in a social media post.
The TMC chief stated that her action was in response to media reports that said, family members of BJP workers, who were killed in political violence in West Bengal in the last one year, have been invited for the swearing-in. She said, “However, in the past one hour, I am seeing media reports with the BJP claiming that 54 people have been murdered in political violence in Bengal. There have been no political murders in Bengal."
Family members of killed BJP workers | Photo by PTI
She further added that the deaths may have occurred due to "personal enmity, family quarrels and other disputes, nothing related to politics", and that “there is no such record.”
Political analysts believe that having Mamata in the presence of these “special guests” would be embarrassing and therefore she decided to take a U-turn. Did BJP orchestrate this move in order to further maintain a hold on the people of West Bengal? According to a report in India Today, between 1999 and 2016, on an average West Bengal witnessed 20 political murders every year. Even if you google political violence, the primary suggestions point towards West Bengal. For Mamata to dismiss an issue that has been a ‘common’ crisis in her territory is simply being ignorant. BJP and TMC have been on the two fighting sides of the most visible violence in the country. From MLAs begin shot dead to hanged, calling it brutal is just an understatement.
For Mamata to decline an invitation is another win for Modi. Could it be termed as an excuse to simply not address her defeat in her own state? Maybe. If it is a political move, that she has termed it, let’s not forget the constant appeasement tactics that were exercised in her rule, mostly based on religion. The monthly grants to imams, allowing Rohingya Muslims to stay illegally, permitting large scale infiltration from Bangladesh, and moving the Durga immersion date that was clashing Muharram, was countered by BJP’s ‘Jai Sri Ram’.
While some may consider it a strategic move to demonstrate to the people of West Bengal of how Didi’s decline resonates to not being accountable for the wrongdoings happened during her rule, it also suggests that a political gain has always been about using a trump card to handicap the opponent in every way possible.
