NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday drew a direct parallel between West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the ruthless authoritarian ruler from Satyajit Ray‘s iconic film ‘Hirak Rajar Deshe‘.
Speaking at a public meeting in Hooghly district before the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections in Bengal on May 20, Shah suggested that if the legendary filmmaker were alive today, he might have directed a sequel to the film titled ‘Hirak Rani’.
The moniker ‘Hirak Rani’ has frequently been termed by the BJP heavyweight and Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, as he targets her of overlooking the misappropriation of public funds and central funds.
“Satyajit Ray, as we all know, was one of Bengal’s proud sons and a globally renowned filmmaker. His iconic film ‘Hirak Rajar Deshe’ made waves globally and is still fondly watched and remembered. Sadly, Ray wasn’t around when Mamata Banerjee came to power in Bengal as he would have made a sequel to ‘Hirak Rajar Desh’, titled ‘Hirak Rani’, seeing her misrule. Mamata Banerjee is the Hirak Rani,” home minister said with a smirk while campaigning in the Hooghly district.
The 1969 film was a musical fantasy featuring screen icons Utpal Dutt as the tyrant ruler ‘Hirak Raja’ and Soumitra Chatterjee as ‘Udayan Pandit’, a teacher who defied the king and rallied his peasants against his oppressive rule.
Addressing the TMC‘s governance in Bengal, the Union home minister remarked, “Violence, oppression, and appeasement are widespread in the state.”
Underlining the contribution of Bengal’s unsung revolutionaries in the freedom movement, Shah said, “It is sad how the Communists and the Trinamool Congress worked to finish off nationalism in Bengal, the state which gave us ‘Vande Mataram’, ‘Jana Gana Mana’, while also playing a prominent role in our struggle for independence.”
Expanding on the ‘oppression’ inflicted upon the people and the entrenched culture of political violence in the state, the Union home minister asserted, “They (TMC) took away the rights from poor, backward and Adivasis and gave them to infiltrators and their network of mafia and syndicates. As many as 53 of our supporters were killed in the last (2021) assembly elections in the state.”
Shah was rallying support for the BJP’s Hooghly candidate, Locket Chatterjee, who is contesting against the TMC’s Rachana Banerjee, a popular actor and television host, in her bid for reelection to the Lok Sabha.
Polling in Bengal is progressing through all seven phases, with the vote counting scheduled for June 4.
(With inputs from agencies)
Speaking at a public meeting in Hooghly district before the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections in Bengal on May 20, Shah suggested that if the legendary filmmaker were alive today, he might have directed a sequel to the film titled ‘Hirak Rani’.
The moniker ‘Hirak Rani’ has frequently been termed by the BJP heavyweight and Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, as he targets her of overlooking the misappropriation of public funds and central funds.
“Satyajit Ray, as we all know, was one of Bengal’s proud sons and a globally renowned filmmaker. His iconic film ‘Hirak Rajar Deshe’ made waves globally and is still fondly watched and remembered. Sadly, Ray wasn’t around when Mamata Banerjee came to power in Bengal as he would have made a sequel to ‘Hirak Rajar Desh’, titled ‘Hirak Rani’, seeing her misrule. Mamata Banerjee is the Hirak Rani,” home minister said with a smirk while campaigning in the Hooghly district.
The 1969 film was a musical fantasy featuring screen icons Utpal Dutt as the tyrant ruler ‘Hirak Raja’ and Soumitra Chatterjee as ‘Udayan Pandit’, a teacher who defied the king and rallied his peasants against his oppressive rule.
Addressing the TMC‘s governance in Bengal, the Union home minister remarked, “Violence, oppression, and appeasement are widespread in the state.”
Underlining the contribution of Bengal’s unsung revolutionaries in the freedom movement, Shah said, “It is sad how the Communists and the Trinamool Congress worked to finish off nationalism in Bengal, the state which gave us ‘Vande Mataram’, ‘Jana Gana Mana’, while also playing a prominent role in our struggle for independence.”
Expanding on the ‘oppression’ inflicted upon the people and the entrenched culture of political violence in the state, the Union home minister asserted, “They (TMC) took away the rights from poor, backward and Adivasis and gave them to infiltrators and their network of mafia and syndicates. As many as 53 of our supporters were killed in the last (2021) assembly elections in the state.”
Shah was rallying support for the BJP’s Hooghly candidate, Locket Chatterjee, who is contesting against the TMC’s Rachana Banerjee, a popular actor and television host, in her bid for reelection to the Lok Sabha.
Polling in Bengal is progressing through all seven phases, with the vote counting scheduled for June 4.
(With inputs from agencies)