Mamata Banerjee Marks Harmony Day with Message Against Communal Politics

Kolkata, Dec 6 (IANS) — On the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition — a day the Trinamool Congress (TMC) observes annually as “Harmony Day” — West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee issued a subtle yet firm message aimed at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), without directly naming it. She reiterated that her battle against divisive communal politics would continue unabated.

“Those who are indulging in the dangerous game of stoking communal fires to destroy the country—our fight against them will continue,” the Chief Minister said in a social media post on Saturday.

She also urged the people of West Bengal to uphold the state’s legacy of peace and unity on the occasion of Harmony Day.

“Unity is Strength. I extend my heartfelt greetings to all on the occasion of ‘Unity Day’/‘Harmony Day’. The soil of Bengal is the soil of unity. This is the land of Rabindranath, Nazrul, and Ramakrishna-Vivekananda. This soil has never bowed its head to division, nor will it ever do so,” she wrote.

Mamata Banerjee added that West Bengal has always been home to people of all faiths — Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Jainism, and Buddhism — who know how to walk together in harmony.

“We share our joys because we believe religion belongs to individuals, but festivals belong to everyone,” she said.

Later on Saturday afternoon, the Trinamool Congress will hold its annual ‘Sampriti Diwas (Harmony Day)’ programme at Esplanade in Central Kolkata. Hosted by the party’s youth and students’ wings, the event will be attended by senior leadership.

In contrast to the TMC’s unity programme, suspended party MLA from Bharatpur constituency, Humayun Kabir, will go ahead with a separate event in the same district — the foundation stone-laying ceremony of a Babri-style Mosque in Beldanga, Murshidabad.

The proposed structure is intended to replicate the original Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, which was demolished on December 6, 1992.