"Hearing Gita makes her ears bleed": Priyanka Tibrewal slams Mamata Banerjee for skipping mass Gita recitation event in Kolkata

Over 5 lakh people participated in a mass recital of the holy Bhagwat Gita at Kolkata's Brigade parade ground on Sunday.

Speaking to ANI on Monday, Tibrewal said Banerjee had been invited to the programme but chose to stay away.

"On Sunday, a Gita recitation event took place here, with over 5 lakh people participating. Although Mamata Banerjee was invited, she chose not to attend. She asserts that it was a BJP event. Show us one flag, poster, or banner declaring it a BJP event. We wouldn't see any BJP leaders or workers on stage. It was a programme for saints and sages," BJP leader said.

Tibrewal added that "claiming figures like Baba Bageshwar or Maa Ritambhara belonged to the BJP is an insult to any saint".

The BJP leader further escalated her criticism by alleging that the Chief Minister avoided the event due to her political positioning and religious preferences. "The only reason she hasn't attended this event is that she's so accustomed to hearing the Namaz that hearing the Gita makes her ears bleed," Tibrewal said.

Earlier, West Bengal Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Suvendu Adhikari called Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee "anti-Hindu" after she skipped the mass recital of the Bhagavad Gita at Kolkata's Brigade parade ground.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Suvendu Adhikari said, "She (Mamata Banerjee) is anti-Hindu. Those who were on the stage, including Bageshwar Dham Sarkar Acharya Dhirendra Krishna Shastri and Sadhvi Ritambhara, were they carrying BJP flags? We were reciting the Bhagavad Gita from the field. We went there as Hindus, not as BJP leader. No BJP leader was on the dias. She opposes the Ram Mandir. She calls Mahakumbh a 'Mrityukumbh'. She is not a Hindu."

Earlier on Sunday, CM Mamata Banerjee alleged that the mass recital of the Bhagwat Gita was a BJP event. "How can I attend a BJP programme? If it had been impartial, I would certainly have gone. But how can I attend a BJP event? I belong to another party, and I have a different ideology. I respect all religions and all communities, but where the BJP is directly involved, how can I go? They say they dislike Netaji and do not accept Gandhiji, so how can I attend their event? I have not received such teachings from the soil of Bengal. Those who disrespect Bengal and are Bangla-birodhi, I cannot stand with them," CM Mamata Banerjee said.

The mass recital was organised by Sanatan Sanskriti Sansad at Brigade Parade Ground in the state capital. (ANI)