Row Over ‘Ram’ Remark: Madan Mitra Says Viral Clip Is Edited
TMC MLA says viral video is from 2024 and selectively cut ahead of Bengal polls
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 19th Dec: Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra on Thursday denied the BJP’s allegation that he had “deliberately insulted the Hindu faith,” asserting that a video clip circulating on social media was selectively edited and taken out of context.
The controversy erupted after BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari shared a 35-second clip on X, alleging that Mitra had claimed “Ram is a Muslim… not a Hindu.” Bhandari accused the Trinamool of repeatedly mocking Hindu beliefs and said such remarks reflected political patronage from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Responding to the charge, Mitra said the clip was from a public speech delivered in 2024 and had been edited to create controversy ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections due early next year.
“It is an old video… They have edited it and published it now,” Mitra said, adding that the full speech would show he had made no such remarks. “They are not showing the entire video.”
Bhandari, however, doubled down on the accusation, saying the statement reflected a pattern of “daily attacks on Hindu beliefs” and alleged that the Chief Minister’s silence amounted to approval.
The exchange comes amid escalating political sparring between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP as election season approaches. The two parties have already clashed over issues ranging from the Special Intensive Revision of Bengal’s voter list to allegations involving MPs vaping inside Parliament.
The Trinamool has also faced criticism over disorder during football star Lionel Messi’s recent visit to Kolkata and renewed controversy surrounding a now-suspended MLA’s proposal to build a replica of the demolished Babri Masjid.
With religious and cultural issues increasingly taking centre stage, the latest row adds another flashpoint to what is shaping up to be a fiercely contested election in West Bengal.
