BJP says Mamata insulted Ram Navami; takes swipe at Rahul, Akhilesh

New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of linking Ram Navami festival with disharmony, claiming that her comments reflect INDIA bloc leaders' insulting mindset for the country's culture.

Greeting the people on Ram Navami, Banerjee had in a post on X appealed to "maintain peace, prosperity and development for all".

Greetings to all on the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami. I appeal to maintain peace, prosperity and development for all.

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) April 17, 2024

Seizing on her post, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said her appeal to maintain peace implies that she is linking the festival to disturbance or disharmony.

"This is totally an insult of the festival of Ram Navami," the BJP MP told reporters.

He also took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav over their joint press conference for the claim that the INDIA bloc will sweep Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha polls.

Yadav had said "winds of change" are blowing from western Uttar Pradesh and INDIA bloc will have a "clean sweep from Ghaziabad to Ghazipur".

Both opposition leaders themselves lack the courage to announce their candidature from Uttar Pradesh but are giving assurances to others, Trivedi said.

"Everybody knows that 'aayega to Modi hi'," he said, claiming that the BJP-led alliance will win over 400 Lok Sabha seats in the national elections.

While Rahul Gandhi left Uttar Pradesh after losing the poll from Amethi in 2019, her mother Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha MP from Raebareli, has gone to Rajya Sabha, he said.

Rahul Gandhi had won from Wayanad in Kerala in 2019 and is again contesting from there.

Both Rahul Gandhi and Yadav, who is an MLA, may be named as their respective party candidates from Uttar Pradesh as well, according to several reports.

The BJP spokesperson also slammed the opposition leaders for their reference to the electoral bond scheme as a scam, saying the Congress and the Trinamool Congress collected hundreds of crores of rupees through these bonds.

Those who collected money are calling it a scam, he said.