Kolkata, March 3 Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, participated in the 'Dol Yatra' festivities and a procession in Bhabanipur, the constituency of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday, and called for greater unity among Hindus.
Participating in the rally of the Sanatan Hindu Samaj in Bhabanipur, the senior BJP leader said, "Words like 'secularism' are being misinterpreted in the country."
"The name of this country is Hindustan. This means that Hindus and people of other communities have been living here peacefully for ages. We will not allow a section of people to misinterpret and mix up secularism with the true pluralistic spirit of India, where people of different faiths have equal rights to espouse their beliefs," he said.
"On the day of the holy 'Dol Yatra' festival, I call upon our Hindu brothers and sisters to unite for peacefully dislodging this appeasement-friendly Mamata Banerjee government, which wants to change the demography of Bengal by allowing infiltrators to stay here for their vote bank," Adhikari asserted.
Assembly elections are due in the state in April. Adhikari's visit to Bhabanipur has fuelled speculation in political circles that he may contest from the constituency.
The BJP also recently opened a new party office in the area.
According to political observers, Adhikari's comments signal a sharpening of the BJP's Hindutva pitch in the run-up to the elections, with the festival platform being used to consolidate support among Hindu voters.
Meanwhile, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said BJP's "communal and divisive comments" during the festivities to consolidate Hindu votes will not succeed.
"In our state, people across faiths are celebrating 'Dol Yatra'/Holi with equal enthusiasm. Today, Muslims are fasting and also participating in Holi celebrations. This is the true meaning of Hindustan, not the 'one nation one community' state propagated by the BJP," Ghosh asserted.
