Jagannath Rath Yatra: BJP supporters greet Mamata Banerjee with 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan at religious event

Serampore: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was greeted with ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans by BJP supporters yet again when she visited Mahesh area in Hooghly district to inaugurate the 623-year-old rath yatra festival on Thursday. The slogan was heard from a section of the gathering as Banerjee was alighting from the dais amidst chants of ‘Jai Jagannath’ over the public address system. [caption id=“attachment_6937011” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee at a rath yatra event. PTI[/caption] Mahesh, which is about 24 kilometres from Kolkata, falls under Serampore Lok Sabha constituency which was won by Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee. The BJP supporters, who had been cordoned off by the police even before the programme started, raised the slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as police escorted Banerjee to the vehicle waiting for her and was whisked away. The Trinamool Congress supremo had been trolled by the BJP for her angry reaction to ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans at Bhatpara in North 24 Parganas district in May. Similar incident had taken place Chandrakona in West Midnapore district. At the programme, Banerjee announced a Rs 15 crore package for popularising the Mahesh Rath Yatra and construction of an eco tourism park in the town. The chief minister said that her government was focussing on the development of pilgrimage centres across the state. “We have developed civic and religious amenities in pilgrim centres such as Tarakeswar, Tarapith, Furfura Sharif and Dakshineswar. We will do the same at Mahesh,” she said.