Mamata Banerjee targets PM for 'Swami' prefix for Sri Ramakrishna

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his message on the birth anniversary of Ramakrishna Paramahansa, taking offence at the use of the prefix "Swami" for the 19th century spiritual leader.

"I urge the prime minister kindly not to discover new prefixes and suffixes for the great Renaissance figures of Bengal who shaped modern India," she said.

She was referring to Modi's message in Hindi on X, which said, "Tribute to Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa on his birth anniversary...." Reacting to the post, she wrote, "Shocked again!... Sri Ramakrishna was widely revered as Thakur (literally, God)..."