Didi stands by Srijato, vows to take care of plaint against him

Kolkata: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday stood by poet Srijato Bandyopadhyay against whom an FIR has been lodged for writing a poem, which allegedly hurt religious sentiments.

“There will be no problem and I will take full care. I have asked the police to conduct an investigation into the matter and submit the report to me. Do not worry,” Ms Banerjee said during a TV interview with a private Bengali television channel on Thursday evening.

Without naming any political party, the chief minister hinted at the BJP for lodging the complaint. “I can tell you nothing harsh will happen to Srijato. Everyone has democratic rights. He wrote a poem, which is a political poem. Those who are spreading saffronisation have lodged the complaint. On social media, the poet is being targeted and threatened. I do not want to name anyone. They want to dictate what we will think and do,” Ms Banerjee said, adding the police will investigate whether the compliant against him is genuine or not. “Law will take its own course,” she said.

When questioned about the presidential election in the country, the CM said she would be happy if BJP leader L.K. Advani or Sushma Swaraj or Sumitra Mahajan becomes the President. Ms Banerjee, however, made it clear that on the issue of ‘support’ in the Presidential election, there should be a collective decision from her party.  “I respect Advani ji, Sushma ji and I will be happy if either of them become the President. I will also be happy if Pranab Mukherjee stays as the President,” Ms Banerjee said.

However, when questioned about her support, she said, “I have to speak to my party before taking the final call. A lot of equations are involved.”

On being questioned about the Narada case, she said the matter is subjudice and the probe will bring out the truth. “The Narada issue is a case of political conspiracy. The Narada footage was first shown publicly from the BJP’s office. Giving an MP ticket to K.D. Singh was my blunder. The conspiracy angle of the sting operation must be probed.”