Mamata seeks PM's apology over 'Bankim Da' reference

Kolkata: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his reference to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Vande Mataram's composer, as "Bankim da" during his speech in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

After Trinamool MP Saugata Roy objected and said it should be "Bankim babu", the PM replied, "Yes, I will say Bankim Babu. Thank you, I respect that sentiment."

Banerjee, however, did not name the PM directly during her anti-SIR rally speech in Cooch Behar. She said that "minimum respect was not paid to Chattopadhyay, who wrote the national song". "You have insulted the country's religion, culture and country's history and freedom movement. The countrymen will not tolerate such an insult," Banerjee said.


"Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was referred to as 'Bankim da'. It sounds like referring to any casual acquaintance like 'Shyam da' or 'Hari da'. You should apologise for that," she said, accusing BJP of insulting Bengali personalities like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Khudiram Basu and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, among others.