A file image of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Ahead of the Assembly polls in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (March 3, 2026) used the birth anniversary of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to stress the State’s tradition of secularism, while Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari raised the pitch of hindutva.
Ms. Banerjee took to social media on the occasion of birth anniversary of Chaitanya Mahabrabhu and Dol Purnima and said, “We must take this oath that we will not allow Sri Chaitanyadev’s Bengali tradition of secularism is damaged”. The Trinamool Congress chairperson added that she would not allow the tradition of tolerance to be tarnished.
The Chief Minister had on Monday (March 3, 2026) participated in a Holi event at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, where she stated that it was not the policy of her government to divide and discriminate. “We don’t divide and discriminate; we unite people. That is our tradition and heritage. We will not bow down in front of any evil force,” she had said.
Taking part in the rally of the Sanatan Hindu Samaj in Bhabanipur, BJP leader Mr. Adhikari said “words like secularism are being misinterpreted” in the country.
“The name of this country is Hindustan. This means Hindus and people of other communities have been living here peacefully for ages. We will not allow a section of people to misinterpret and mix up secularism with the true pluralistic spirit of India, where people of different faiths have equal rights to espouse their beliefs,” the BJP leader said.
The Nandigram MLA has been drumming up support for the BJP on religious lines and calling all the Hindus to unite. “I call upon our Hindu brothers and sisters to unite for peacefully dislodging this appeasement-friendly Mamata Banerjee government, which wants to change the demography of Bengal by allowing infiltrators to stay here for their vote bank,” he said.
The remarks by the Chief Minister and the Leader of Opposition appear to be drawing up the political battle lines ahead of the Assembly polls. While the Trinamool will appeal to the electorate on secularism, the BJP seeks to polarise the Hindus.
Published – March 03, 2026 10:48 pm IST
