Singer Babul Supriyo, who had jumped ship from BJP to TMC amidst the post-poll violence unleashed by TMC goons against BJP workers, is now trying his best to wash away the “communal stamp” that was put on him.
Babul Supriyo was attending an Iftar party with Kolkata mayor and TMC minister Firhad Hakim. The candidate from Ballygunge was attending the Iftar party after campaigning alongside Abhishek Banerjee, TMC leader and the nephew of CM Mamata Banerjee.
After the campaign was over, speaking to the media, Babul Supriyo proceeded to equate Indian and Pakistan Muslims.
A fake communal stamp was imposed over my image. But it is not true. Earlier I could only meet 70% population, now I am free to meet 100% population. I am among those few singers who performed shows in Pakistan: TMC Ballygunge Assembly candidate Babul Supriyo pic.twitter.com/DTePd8ASe6
— ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2022
Sporting the Islamic skull cap, Babul Supriyo said, “A fake communal stamp was imposed over my image. But it is not true. Earlier I could only meet 70% population, now I am free to meet 100% population. I am among those few singers who performed shows in Pakistan”.
Reportedly, after saying this, Babul Supriyo told the media that whoever wishes to create a controversy over his statements can do so and he will have nothing to say to them in this regard.
Babul Supriyo’s statement comes ahead of the April 12th bypolls, where he is set to fight the BJP’s Keya Ghosh, also a singer and politican.
It is interesting to note that while attending Iftar in Kolkata, where presumably only Indian Muslims were present, Babul Supriyo felt the need to bandy his “secular” credentials by claiming that he had performed in Pakistan. By doing so, Surpriyo essentially equated Indian and Pakistani Muslims by saying that one can only work for Indian Muslims if they have no problem with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Muslims of Pakistan, who regularly infiltrate India and carry out terrorist attacks, killing security personnel and civilians.
Essentially, by saying this, Babul Supriyo was also trying to justify his move from BJP to TMC, which had come under criticism from several quarters. In 2021, after the Assembly Elections in West Bengal, Babul Supriyo had switched parties and joined TMC. When TMC goons were murdering, raping and burning the houses of BJP workers, Supriyo had haplessly abandoned his cadre saying that he was scared to venture into the areas where violence was taking place because he would come under attack.
Soon after abandoning his party workers, who were under attack from TMC goons, Supriyo had changed parties and joined TMC. At the time, he was criticised not only for abandoning his party cadre, but also compromising with the ideals he had claimed to espouse to save his life because he was scared of what TMC might do to him.
Now, it seems that Babul Supriyo had decided to criticise his former party, BJP, by claiming that when he was a part of it, he could meet and greet only 70% of the population, insinuating that earlier he was allowed to meet only Hindus and that the BJP was communal. However, now that he is a part of TMC, he is also free to meet the Muslim population of India.
To appease the Muslims further and toe the party line, Supriyo not only said this but also went ahead and equated Indian Muslims with Pakistani Muslims, virtually claiming that one had to be pro-Pakistan to appease the Indian Muslim population.
