Mamata Banerjee Condemns Alleged "Khalistani" Remark: Bengal's Response to Identity Politics

In response to reports that Bengal-cadre IPS officer Jaspreet Singh was referred to as "Khalistani" by a group of BJP leaders and supporters, including Suvendu Adhikari and Agnimitra Paul, chief minister Mamata Banerjee escalated her opposition to the saffron environment on Wednesday.

What did a Punjabi (Sikh) officer do wrong? He was carrying out his obligation. Are there no Gorkha and Punjab regiments in the armed forces? "Yes, there isn't a Bengali regiment (it was disbanded during the British Raj), but Bengalis led the most militant freedom movement," the chief minister said during a state government celebration of International Mother Language Day at Deshapriya Park.


"We cherish every faith. Will you call a Punjabi (Sikh) wearing a turban just because he wears one? Will you refer to a Muslim officer as a Pakistani when there are so many of them in the IAS, IPS, and WBCS? Mamata enquired.

Mamata shared a video clip of Singh, 36, the special superintendent of the Intelligence Branch, who was stationed in Dhamakhali on Tuesday to stop a BJP delegation led by Adhikari from visiting Sandeshkhali, on X. Singh was protesting the BJP's Paul for allegedly calling him a "Khalistani," and Paul was yelling back at him.

Adhikari, the head of the opposition in the Assembly, is heard saying to his party members before to the confrontation in another video tape published by the Trinamul Congress, the truth of which could not be independently verified. "Eta hochhey Khalistani (This one is a Khalistani)."

"They make fun of me by calling me a lot of names. Personally, I don't give a damn," Mamata said on Wednesday.

The worst blemish on Bengal, those that are making the state debilitated, otyacharito (tortured), kolonkito (tarnished), lanchhito (humiliated), and porjudosto (defiled), have all of a sudden surfaced. I hope they have a bright future ahead of them. You want us harm, but we don't," she said, ostensibly addressing Adhikari and others. Bengal's rights and dignity must be safeguarded, as we are aware. We have no idea how to lower our heads. This has always been shown by us.

Sikh community members began holding demonstrations in several sections of Calcutta and the state on Tuesday, and they continued on Wednesday. Tuesday night, Trinamul sought an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while a statement of denunciation was released by Harjinder Singh Dhami, the head of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, Amritsar.

Bengalis are known for encouraging people to express themselves freely and in whatever language they want. Mamata said, "There is a movement, a plot, to uproot Bengal's culture's exceptional tree.

It is a plot that is tarnishing Bengali culture and imposing something foreign. I want everyone to swear that we will not let our culture to be destroyed or tarnished," she said.

In spite of the BJP's efforts to put Sandeshkhali at the center of the debate, sources inside the party's state unit acknowledged that this was a mistake that may cost the party. The state and federal leadership received calls asking for explanations for what transpired. The state leadership did not like the chat, according to a source.

Even on Wednesday, the BJP remained mired in denial. S.S. Ahluwalia, a Sikh community activist and Burdwan-Durgapur MP for the BJP, said that Adhikari and Paul were both responsible and intelligent men who would not have acted in such an insensitive manner.

"It seems like an attempt to deflect attention away from the main issue at a time when the entire state is boiling over (over Sandeshkhali)," Ahluwalia said.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.