West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday, 16 June, said those who accuse her of appeasing Muslims are friends of neither the Hindus nor the Muslims.
Some accuse me of (doing) Muslim appeasement. My question to them is whether loving Hindus means you have to hate Muslims. I respect and love all communities and religions. This country belongs to everybody.Mamata Banerjee, WB CM
"Those who say I appease Muslims are the friends of neither the Hindus nor the Muslims," Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress supremo, said while addressing a special prayer gathering on Red Road here to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr.
The BJP and some other organisations have been charging Banerjee with appeasement of Muslims for political gain.
Referring to the general election in 2019, the chief minister also called for an end to communal hatred and lynching in the country.
We have to understand that terrorists don’t belong to any religion. We all have to fight together in the 2019 to make this country free from the reign of communal hatred and lynching. Let’s work together to build a new India.Mamata Banerjee, WB CM
Her comments come amid recent reports of lynching in various parts of the country.
The chief minister said it was due to her protest that the NITI Aayog meeting which was earlier scheduled for today was changed to tomorrow.
"My question to the Central government officials is whether they are not aware that Eid is scheduled to be celebrated on 16 June. Why was the NITI Aayog meeting kept on that day? I had written to the Central government urging it to change the date so that it doesn't clash with Eid," she said.
Banerjee had on 15 June confirmed her participation in the NITI Aayog's rescheduled governing council meeting in New Delhi on 17 June.
The meeting, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was earlier scheduled on 16 June, the day of Eid.
Banerjee and a few other chief ministers had expressed unwillingness to attend the meeting on the Eid festival day, following which it was postponed by a day to 17 June.
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