Coming down heavily on the Bharatiya Janata Party leader who allegedly called a Sikh IPS officer who was deputed to prevent Suvendu Adhikari from visiting restive Sandeshkhali a 'Khalistani', West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that incident damaged the reputation of the state. The BJP, however, denied the charge and accused the police officer of not performing his duty following Constitutional norms.
Referring to Tuesday's incident Banerjee said, "What was the fault of one Punjabi officer? He was doing his duty. How can you call him a Khalistani just because he was wearing a turban? There are so many Muslims who are IAS, IPS, and WBCS officers. Will you call them Pakistanis?" she said.
Banerjee stated that there are Punjab Regiment and Gorkha Regiment in the armed forces but there is no Bengal Regiment despite the Bengalis having a huge contribution to the country's freedom struggle. "As per @BJP4India, every person wearing a TURBAN is a KHALISTANI. I VEHEMENTLY CONDEMN this audacious attempt to undermine the reputation of our SIKH BROTHERS & SISTERS, revered for their SACRIFICES and UNWAVERING DETERMINATION to our nation," she posted on X. "We stand firm in protecting Bengal's social harmony and will take stern lawful measures to prevent any attempts to disrupt it," Banerjee said.
