Ahead of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee visit to poll-bound Goa, posters and hoarding with the Trinamool Congress supremo’s face were vandalised and defaced in the state. Several TMC hoardings and billboards across Goa were pulled down, destroyed, and Mamata Banerjee’s face on the banners was smeared with ink. The Goa unit of the party has pinned the blame on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
#Breaking| Ahead of #TMC supremo #MamataBanerjee’s maiden visit to Goa on October 28, posters of Mamata Banerjee allegedly defaced with black ink, some torn across several parts of Goa @ANewDawnForGoa @AITC4Goa pic.twitter.com/lSx86oshy9
— Pooja Mehta (@pooja_news) October 26, 2021
TMC alleged on Tuesday, October 26, that BJP conducted a closed-door meeting during which it was decided that Mamata Banerjee’s photo would be defaced and hoardings across Goa would be demolished “overnight.”
TMC releases statement, condemns the vandalism and “attempts to threaten” by the ruling BJP govt in Goa
“Goa TMC condemns this act of vandalism that amounts to insulting a woman who is the only sitting female Chief Minister in the country. Goans will definitely give a befitting response to such a vengeful Government. The latest pictures are evidence of how the BJP has not just vandalised Goa TMC branding but has done so at the cost of Goans,” a press release by Goa TMC stated.
“While defacing Mamata Banerjee’s face in hoardings is in itself a shameful act, what’s more, alarming is how the BJP, drunk on power, is destroying local businesses. They forget that in all such contracts it is the liability of the businessmen or the vendor to replace any damaged hoarding with their own money. So, clearly, the BJP is not just spreading hate but is also attacking the livelihood of hundreds of fellow Goans by destroying their business. Such acts are an attack on the fearless atmosphere for business,” the press release further added.
The party also took to Twitter to pin the blame for the incident on BJP. “National Vice President of AITC, Shri @luizinhofaleiro expresses his disappointment as BJP hits a new low. After the Goa TMC’s launch of the People’s Chargesheet against the Govt, their banners and hoardings were torn & Smt. @MamataOfficial ’s face on the banners was defaced”, Tweeted the party while sharing a video message by former Congress leader and Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro, who joined the party last month.
National Vice President of AITC, Shri @luizinhofaleiro expresses his disappointment as BJP hits a new low. After the Goa TMC’s launch of the People’s Chargesheet against the Govt, their banners and hoardings were torn & Smt. @MamataOfficial’s face on the banners was defaced. pic.twitter.com/Rx3WT6qYmd
— Goenchi Navi Sakal (@ANewDawnForGoa) October 26, 2021
TMC releases political cartoon showing Mamata Banerjee crushing PM and HM with her slippers
While the TMC is attempting to use the issue to launch an attack on the BJP with allegations that have no evidence to back them up, it’s worth remembering that Mamata Banerjee’s party only two days previously released posters wherein TMC not only normalised but also celebrated violence.
The political cartoon showed a woman, clad in a white saree with a blue strip, something which the West Bengal Chief Minister wears, crushing three people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and one civilian under her slipper-wearing foot.
The image was shared with the text “HATERS BEWARE! SHE IS COMING.” Here, ‘she’ is very likely TMC chief Mamata Banerjee. Essentially, with this image, TMC is not only normalising violence but even celebrating it.
It is pertinent to remember that while TMC is complaining about its hoardings getting vandalised, it had unleashed a reign of terror after the West Bengal Assembly Elections. Several BJP workers were murdered, women raped and villages burnt down. It is believed that the violence was a direct result of the ‘Khela Hobe’ anthem that Mamata Banerjee had given in the run up to elections. Furthermore, TMC had even celebrated “Khela Hoba Diwas” on the anniversary of the Direct Action Day where Hindus had been murdered by Muslims.
Meanwhile, Goa is preparing for the forthcoming assembly elections in 2022, which would include all 40 Assembly constituencies. The TMC and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are the two new political parties that will run in the 2022 elections.
