West Bengal Chief Minister wears many hats, apart from being a firebrand political leader, she is also a painter, a poet, a designer and a writer. But now she has been credited with another unusual achievement. A Kolkata zoo has claimed that two lion cubs were born there with the inspiration of Mamata Banerjee.
A new enclosure for wild animals was opened on Sunday at the Alipore zoo in Kolkata. Two lion cubs born in the zoo a few months ago were also presented for public viewing, along with four wild dogs brought into the zoo. The enclosure and the new members of the zoo were inaugurated by forest minister Rajeev Banerjee and state minister of the department Sujit Bose. But the plaque used on the occasion has raised eyebrows in the state, as it claims that the lion cubs were born with the inspiration of the chief minister.
The board in Bengali says that the two ministers inaugurated the two lion cubs for public viewing on 22 December, which were born inside the Alipore Zoo on the inspiration of honourable chief minister of West Bengal. Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta shared an image of the plaque on Twitter today, giving detail of what it says.
According to this plaque, two lion cubs were born in the Alipur Zoo, Kolkata, through the inspiration of Mamata Banerjee. pic.twitter.com/hfsn24XmU9
— Swapan Dasgupta (@swapan55) December 23, 2019
Former TMC MP Kunal Ghosh wrote a scathing post on Facebook, sharply criticising the language used in the plaque. He asked whether some people without any knowledge of language and sense are helping the chief minister or making her subject of ridicule. He said that people have now used the word ‘inspiration’ for mating of lions also. He wrote that even if they meant the CM inspired the inauguration of the enclosure, there was no need to mention that. It is natural that animals in zoo will reproduce, will the CM’s name be mentioned in front of every such enclosure, he asked, adding that the minimum respect for the CM’s name should be maintained.
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He went to add that the birth of lion cubs at the Alipore is definitely an important success, and the result of research work at the zoo. But by ascribing CM’s inspiration, the importance of the matter has been reduced.
‘What was the zoo director thinking? That using “inspiration” for lion mating will ensure his promotion?’ he asked. Ghosh added that the overuse of “inspiration” has crossed limits, and has become a source of joke and laughter.
According to local media, it has become unofficially mandatory to mention ‘inspired by CM’ at every poster/banner/plaque of government or party event, project etc. And the zoo plaque is the result of mindless use of the phrase. The image of the board has gone viral in WB, and has become a subject of ridicule. People are posting messages like ‘today sun rose on the east on the inspiration of Mamata Banerjee’, while others are questioning the need for such formal launch of new animals at a zoo.
