By Anupam Mishra
In his first public address after being appointed the new West Bengal BJP president, Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya emphasised that the party is not against Muslims and called for peaceful coexistence during religious festivities.鈥淲e are not against Muslims. We want to see that Muharram and Durga Puja processions go side by side on the same route without any riots,鈥 Samik Bhattacharya said while addressing the crowd in Kolkata.Bhattacharya also emphasised the party’s readiness for a political confrontation, stating, 鈥淲e will answer in the same language which TMC will question.鈥漈he West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) on Thursday officially appointed Samik Bhattacharya as the new president in a large felicitation ceremony held in Kolkata.The appointment was formally handed over by senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, in the presence of approximately 5,000 party workers and most of the state鈥檚 top BJP leadership. Notably, former BJP state president Dilip Ghosh was absent from the ceremony, despite the presence of three other former state presidents.Ravi Shankar Prasad, who presided over the event, lashed out at the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government during his address.鈥淢amata ji, enough is enough. BJP will defeat you in the next election. I was reading a newspaper, and I was pained that the rape accused was so confident that the police would not take action against him. Mamata ji what has happened to you?鈥 he said, criticising the state government鈥檚 handling of law and order.”You [Mamata Banerjee] were a fighter against the CPM. But now, women are not safe here,鈥 Prasad added, also accusing the government of rising communalism and turning a blind eye to cross-border issues with Bangladesh.Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari also addressed the gathering, intensifying his rhetoric against the ruling party. He referred to the Mamata government as the 鈥淢uslim League 2 government鈥 and reiterated his call for Hindu consolidation.鈥淚f BJP gets 4 to 5 percent more Hindu votes, we can defeat the Muslim League 2 government,鈥 Adhikari asserted, urging Hindus to unite and awaken politically. He further declared that the party鈥檚 mission was not only to defeat Mamata Banerjee but also to 鈥渟end her nephew to jail.鈥- EndsPublished By: Harshita DasPublished On: Jul 3, 2025Tune InMust Watch