BJP leader calls Mamata Banerjee 'Surpankha' days after Narendra Modi told ministers not to make controversial remarks

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked party leaders to refrain from making “irresponsible” statements, saying such comments end up providing “masala” (fodder to controversies). But just days after Modi’s sharp reprimand, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Uttar Pradesh, Surendra Singh has called West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee “Surpanakha”. [caption id=“attachment_3544381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. PTI[/caption] Reacting to the incidents of pre-poll violence in West Bengal ahead of the panchayat elections, Singh said that “Mamata Banerjee is playing the role of Surpanakha. People are getting killed on streets and she, the chief minister is not doing anything about it… Hindus are unsafe in Bengal,” the legislator said in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district. “Bengal will become Jammu and Kashmir. The building will be in the name of Ghanshyam Singh, but a Muslim will be staying there”, Singh remarked. Singh further alleged torture of Hindus by terrorists entering the TMC-ruled state from adjoining Bangladesh. “Fortunately we have a leader like Modi_ji_ and we will oust all foreign elements from Bengal,” he added. He even compared the Congress party to “Ravana”. This wasn’t the first time that Singh has made controversial remarks. In the past, he had predicted that India would become a Hindu state by 2024, insisted that anyone who had reservations about Vande Mataram was a Pakistani and this month, even attempted to defend BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar who is a accused in the Unnao rape case. “I am speaking from a psychological point of view; no one can rape a mother of three children. It is not possible, this is a conspiracy against him (Kuldeep Singh Sengar),” Singh said, according to ANI. He had also alleged that the survivor had earlier filed a similar complaint of rape against someone else, questioning the veracity of the survivor’s version.