Kolkata, Jul 6 (PTI) West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Sunday said Syama Prasad Mookerjee ensured that West Bengal retained its identity during Partition, and he was helped in this mission by Communist leader Jyoti Basu.
Bhattacharya attacked the ruling TMC in the same vein, stating that from having leaders like Mookerjee and Basu who ensured that Bengali Hindus did not face any atrocities, West Bengal now has a regime that was “patronising” radical elements, which were trying to bring back the days of the pre-Partition violence.
Bhattacharya has been evoking the names of Mookerjee and Basu in the same breath after taking over as the state BJP president two days back, as the party tries to reach out to the anti-TMC Left voters ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.
“Islamic fundamentalism has become a menace worldwide, and all of us have to fight the menace. The radical elements should be defeated in Bengal, and I urge every right-thinking party and individual to join hands in this battle,” he said, addressing a function to mark Mookerjee’s birth anniversary.
“Due to its appeasement politics, the TMC has failed to address the growth of radical Islamists in Bengal. The poor, ordinary, and nationalist Muslims have been used by the party for votes even as their economic condition remained the same,” he alleged.
Bhattacharya said the BJP will continue to fight “radical elements” and work for the upliftment of every community, including backwards Muslims.
Remembering Mookerjee, he said it was because of his efforts that West Bengal retained its identity after Partition.
“He was helped in this mission by a Communist figure like Jyoti Basu. From having such figures, we are now under a regime that has led Bengal to a situation similar to 1946. We must prevent that at this hour. We must live up to Syama Prasad’s dreams,” he said.
Hundreds of people paid tributes to Mookerjee at the BJP state headquarters in central Kolkata and the leader’s residence in Bhabanipur.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also paid tribute to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder.
“My humble tribute and respect to Dr Syamaprasad Mukhopadhyay on his birth anniversary,” she said in a post on X in Bengali. PTI SUS SOM
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