Don't need your money, Bengal has enough to rebuild Vidyasagar statue: Mamata's curt no to Modi

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Thursday Bengal does not need money from the BJP, it has enough resources to rebuild the Vidyasagar statue that was vandalised at a Kolkata college following Amit Shah's roadshow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a rally in Uttar Pradesh, had promised to install the statue at the same spot where it stood before being desecrated on Tuesday.

Addressing a rally in Mandirbazar, Banerjee said, "Modi has promised to rebuild the Vidyasagar statue in Kolkata. Why should we take their (BJP's) money, Bengal has enough resources."

She also attacked the BJP, claiming that vandalising statues was one of its habits and that the party has done so in Tripura as well. "The BJP has destroyed 200-year-old heritage of West Bengal, those supporting the party will not be accepted by the society," she warned.

Hitting out at the saffron party over its social media posts, the Trinamool Congress chief also said that the BJP had been spreading canards over Facebook and Twitter. "The BJP is trying to instigate people and cause riots with its fake posts on social media," she added.  

In a Facebook post, Banerjee slammed the BJP and said that, “Vandalising the statue of Pandit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar may not be viewed as an isolated incident. Incidence of vandalism of statues is not a new phenomenon for BJP.”

“A statue of B R Ambedkar, founding father of Indian Constitution and a legendary leader of the backward classes, was vandalised in Meerut (UP) again under BJP rule in March last year. The Periyar statue in Vellore was suspected to be broken by a worker of the same party,” Banerjee added. “Vidyasagar is a great reformer, philosopher, educationist of Bengal whose name is remembered with great dignity and honour everywhere. People of Bengal condemns this henious act of vandalism by BJP goons,” the Bengal Chief Minister said.