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| Mamata Banerjee |
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was welcomed in Varanasi by members of Hindu Yuva Vahini with loud chants of Jai Shri Ram and black flags along with slogans like ‘Mamata Banerjee go back’. This incident took place on Wednesday 2nd March 2022 in the evening when Mamata Banerjee had arrived at Varanasi to address an election rally with Akhilesh Yadav to campaign for the candidates of the Samajwadi Party ahead of the seventh phase of voting in the ongoing assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh.
UP people knows how to give it back.. pic.twitter.com/W2G2HJY576
— India Untold (@Untoldind) March 2, 2022
Many videos have gone viral on social media in which Mamata Banerjee and her cavalcade are seen obstructed by the outraging people who are raising slogans and chanting Jai Shri Ram. A Twitter user India Untold has posted one such video in which police are seen chasing a few such activists. The one who is seen talking in this video had said, “My name is Nitish Singh. I am City Secretary of Hindu Yuva Vahini. Today Mamata Bano, who is responsible for the genocide of Hindus in Bengal, has arrived at Kashi. By chanting Jai Shri Ram aloud, we want to bring this to her notice that this Bharat is the land of Sanatan Hindus and that this is not Bengal where you can insult Hindus and go away with it. This is Uttar Pradesh.”
Shashi Kumar, the social media co-convenor of the Uttar Pradesh state BJP has written in his tweet, “Mamata Bannerjee had the taste of her own medicine. She faced huge protests in Varanasi. People didn’t let her cavalcade move, welcomed her with black flags, and Jai Shri Ram. She had to cancel so many of her scheduled programs.” He has also posted a video with this tweet.
Mamata Bannerjee had the taste of her own medicine.
— Shashi Kumar (@iShashiShekhar) March 2, 2022
She faced huge protest in Varanasi. People didn’t let her cavalcade move, welcomed her with black flags and Jai Shri Ram
She had to cancel so many of her scheduled program pic.twitter.com/4UlmjNfqvf
It is notable that Mamata Banerjee is holding a rally with Akhilesh Yadav in Airhe village of Varanasi to campaign for the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its allies in Varanasi – Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency – on 3rd March 2022, ahead of the seventh and final phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections. In the last phase on 7th March 2022, a total of 54 constituencies including eight in Varanasi will go to the polls.
This is not the first time that Mamata Banerjee is was greeted by the Jai Shri Ram slogans. Hindu activists have been doing that on various occasions after she had openly displayed her hatred for the slogan. In January 2021, she was seen walking out of the stage refusing to address the public gathered at Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial for Netaji birth anniversary celebrations, because the crowd was chanting Jai Shri Ram.
Mamata Banerjee who was sharing the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi lamented of “being disrespected” because she could not stand the slogans of Jai Shree Ram, Bharat Mata ki Jai, etc when she was invited to address the event. After that, she was greeted with the Jai Shri Ram slogan on several occasions.
