Kolkata, February 19 – Hours after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's social media comment against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, criticizing his description of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa as "Swami" during the "Ramakrishna Jayanti" celebrations, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) issued a counter statement questioning the Chief Minister's ignorance.
Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister posted on X, criticizing Prime Minister Modi's description of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa as "Swami" as another attempt by the Prime Minister to demonstrate cultural insensitivity towards prominent figures in West Bengal.
Later on Thursday afternoon, Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP's Information Technology Cell and the party's central observer for West Bengal, issued a counter statement on his official X account, questioning the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's ignorance in the matter.
"We are also shocked by your ignorance! The Prime Minister referred to Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, also known as Sri Ramakrishna and 'Thakur' by his disciples, as Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Ji while paying tribute to the universally respected great seer and saint of India on his birth anniversary," Malviya said in a social media post on X.
He also added that the use of the prefix "Swami" by Prime Minister Modi was not a reference to the title used by monks of the Swami Vivekananda-founded Belur Math, the international headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission at Belur in the Howrah district of West Bengal.
According to BJP leader Malviya, the monks of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission dedicate their lives to spreading the message and teachings of their spiritual preceptor, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, who is adored worldwide "as the greatest 'swami' of all time".
"There is a larger metaphorical and metaphysical concept of spirituality, known as 'Advaita Vedanta', the non-dualism of the individual and God, which is practiced and propagated by the Ramakrishna Mission. It forms the core of Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's experiential, mystical, and universalist vision. In this context, 'Swami' refers to the Great Master, whose kathamrit remains as overwhelming, awe-inspiring, and mind-absorbing today as it was when he walked this world of mere mortals," the BJP leader added.
Along with his social media post on X, BJP leader Malviya had also attached a video of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's recent speech, where she is heard referring to "Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa" as "Sri Krishna Paramhamsa".
In the same speech, the Chief Minister was heard claiming that "Sri Krishna Paramhamsa" was the author of the Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta.
