West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said she will hold a ‘Sarba Dharma‘ (interfaith) rally on January 22, the day when the ‘Pran Pratishtha‘ of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya will take place.
Addressing a press conference, Banerjee said she will offer puja at the Kalighat temple and will take out the rally. She urged people from all religions to participate in the event.
“On January 22, I am going to do a rally from Kalighat Hazra to Park Circus with people of all religions. I will ask every district heads of the party to prepare for this rally. I will offer puja in Kalighat temple and then we will take out the rally,” she said.
“The rally, which will be called ‘Sarba Dharma‘ rally, will cover various religious places like temples, churches, gurdwaras and mosques,” she said.
Banerjee said she will reach Park Circus Maidan and hold a meeting. On that day, a block-wise rally will take place across West Bengal with the theme — ‘All religions are equal’ and people from all religions and communities will be present in the rally.
Asked whether the rally was a counter to the Ram Temple consecration ceremony, the Chief Minister replied, “No! I am doing a counter event. I am not giving any reply. I will say religion is different, but festivals are for everyone. I will not say much.”
On January 9, Banerjee accused the BJP of using the consecration of the Ram Temple as an “election gimmick” ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
The ‘Pran Pratishtha‘ of Ram Temple on January 22 will see over 7,000 people attending the event, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Banerjee has decided not to attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple, according to sources. Her party is also unlikely to send any representative to the event, sources said.