‘You Can’t Teach Dignity’: TMC Leaders Slam BJP For Chanting Religious Slogans at Netaji Event

Apart from Derek O'Brien, a number of other Trinamool Congress leaders took to social media on Saturday to condemn the developments at the event in Kolkata.

New Delhi: Soon after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declined to speak at an event to celebrate Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary in Kolkata, the TMC leaders slammed the BJP for shouting religious slogans at the event with party MP Derek O’Brien saying you can’t teach ‘dignity’.

dignity (noun) The state or quality of being worthy of honour and respect.

You can’t teach ‘dignity’. Nor can you teach lumpens to be dignified.

Here is a one-min video of what exactly happened today. Including the dignified response by @MamataOfficial pic.twitter.com/aEQ3jF7CYf

— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) January 23, 2021

While tweeting a video of the incident at Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, Derek O’Brien said, “You can’t teach ‘dignity’. Nor can you teach lumpens to be dignified.”

Apart from Derek O’Brien, a number of other Trinamool Congress leaders took to social media on Saturday to condemn the developments at the event in Kolkata.

“I strongly condemn shouting of political and religious slogans at Government Functions to celebrate legacy of Freedom Fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on his 125th birth anniversary celebrations,” TMC MP Nusrat Jahan Ruhi said in a tweet.

राम का नाम गले लगाके बोले ना कि गला दबाके । 🙏
I strongly condemn shouting of political and religious slogans at Government Functions to celebrate legacy of Freedom Fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on his 125th birth anniversary celebrations. #SaveBengalFromBJP #Shame

— Nussrat Jahan (@nusratchirps) January 23, 2021

On Saturday, Mamata Banerjee declined to speak at an event to celebrate Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary where “Jai Shri Ram” slogans were raised in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Banerjee had not started her speech when the slogan was raised by a section of the crowd at the Victoria Memorial event to celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of the legendary freedom fighter.

She said such “insult” was unacceptable. “This is a government programme and not a political programme. There has to be dignity. It doesn’t behove anybody to invite people and insult. I won’t speak. Jai Bangla, Jai Hind,” she said.