Insult to Mamata, a mean act

All eyes are on New Delhi as the national capital is set to witness the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi, who, throwing a huge surprise to many grousers and nitpickers, emerged winner with a landslide majority in the recent hustings.

Many leaders from across the globe and within the country have been invited to the august ceremony and yes, Modi's second coming is worth it, no doubt. But the way the BJP strongman resorted to settle scores with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee does not signal a noble start for his second dispensation in a row.

Mamata Banerjee is not a personality for someone, however bigger he or she is, to deride and insult in their efforts to shatter her tall political image. Losing a major chunk of her own political fiefdom itself serves as an affront to a leader of her stature. Banerjee, who as a matured leader, earlier announced that she would attend Prime Minister's oath-taking ceremony as a 'constitutional duty'.

But she had to take a complete U-turn on Wednesday with the BJP levelling allegations that 54 of its workers were killed in political violence in West Bengal under Banerjee's rule. Rubbing salt into her wounds, the BJP also invited the family members of those workers who were allegedly killed in political violence in the State.

If one has to weigh the two top leaders in the country, Banerjee's scale will undoubtedly remain low. Unlike Narendra Modi, who eked his living by selling tea elsewhere at the young age, Banerjee was very much into politics as a little girl of 15. She also got highly educated in various subjects including law and Islamic history.

Known for her humble and down-to-earth lifestyle, Mamata also played a key role in stopping forceful land acquisitions by the Left government in the name of development in places like Singur. The TMC firebrand has such a strong political history that she was the country's youngest parliamentarian ever, trouncing none other than Communist behemoth Somnath Chatterjee way back in 1984. Such a luminary does deserve a better treatment.

In what is perceived as an overnight decision by Modi-Shah duo to batter the veteran Bengali woman leader's self-respect, the families of the victims of alleged political murders during the past six years in the State, will be 'special invitees' at the glittering ceremony. It is a blunt message to Banerjee that in the days to come, more defectors from TMC will join the BJP and she will have to face stiff resistance from the Centre in her development activities.

It may be recalled that the BJP could win 18 Lok Sabha seats out of 42 in West Bengal, reducing the TMC number from the earlier 34 to a mere 22. But that does not mean that the BJP and its Central leadership can undermine the standing of a respectable leader like Banerjee.

Any political party, be it the winner or the loser, should respect the mandate given by the people and should act in a highly dignified way to protect democracy and keep the sanctity of our Constitution. The country has seen enough muck being thrown at leaders of various political parties ahead of the general elections. It is time to guard the democracy and its people in a decorous way. Enough is enough!