A strong war of words erupted between Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister over the death of a tiger in West Bengal and the festival of Shikar Utsav. Gandhi slammed the state stating that it was the ‘only place where killing of wild animals was allowed and encouraged’.
She accused Mamata Banerjee of saving the culprits to save her ‘vote bank’. This led to a fierce retort from Banerjee, who branded Gandhi ‘anti-Adivasi’.
She claimed that thousands of animals were killed by tribal people during the hunting festival known as Shikhar Utsav in the Ajodhya Hill area in WB’s Purulia district. She said: “Thousands of so-called tribals come to the forests around Lalgarh and kill thousands of animals every year. This year was no exception. They do not kill the animal for themselves. They are being used by smugglers and poachers and the state forest department has done nothing about this.”
"West Bengal is the only place in India where such illegality is allowed and encouraged. It is extremely important to stop the 'Shikar Utsav' here," she said.
"The point is that, if the Chief Minister was interested she could have stopped it in two minutes. But it is all about the vote bank. If 10,000-15,000 animals die for the sake of securing the vote bank, what can you do?" the Minister said.
Gandhi’s comments came a few days after a Royal Bengal tiger that had strayed into Bengal’s Lalgarh forest. This led Banerjee to retort that Gandhi’s comments were ‘unwarranted’.
She said: “I feel she should apologise to the Adivasi community. With people like them in the Cabinet, the government as well as the nation is in a precarious situation. I completely condemn the comment made by her. Adivasi brothers and sisters are our assets. Is she aware how many forests and deep forests we have in Bengal? Does she know how many tigers, elephants, rhinos, bison or deer are there in Bengal?”
She said that Bengal had a lot of forest cover and people protected them with their lives.
She added: “A tiger has died. How did she know it was killed by the Adivasis? Many people have different theories about the death of the tiger. Police and forest department officials have used drones to spot this tiger over the last few weeks. Common people were living in fear. It even injured villagers who went to collect kendu leaves in the forest. Two people are in the hospital. The Union Minister is commenting without knowing anything about Bengal’s culture.”
She accused the BJP of ‘using Adivasis armed with bows and arrows during elections’.
She said: “During elections they use Adivasis armed with bows and arrows. They hold Ram Navami rallies with arms. Don’t they feel ashamed then? Few days ago, they brought Adivasis from Jharkhand, armed with bows and arrows. That’s fine and now Adivasis are bad? At a time when Dalits are being persecuted across the country, her comments reflect the BJP’s stand on SC/STs, Dalits, Adivasis and common people.”
She further slammed Gandhi, demanding she apologise to the nation and had ‘no right to insult Bengal and Adivasis’.
She added: “How did she know that Shikar Utsav was held? Did she use a telescope? A tiger died and curious people came to see it. Even when people die, relatives and others come to pay their respects. How can she compare this with Shikar Utsav? She cannot ridicule a tradition of the Adivasi community?”
She went on to add that people of all backgrounds lived together in harmony in Bengal and asked her ‘to repent for this act’.
