Mamata Banerjee visits temple in Bengal's Birbhum district; BJP accuses TMC of practising 'soft Hindutva'

Kolkata: Terming West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's visit to a temple in Birbhum district as "soft Hindutva", state BJP President Dilip Ghosh on Wednesday said the ruling party was trying to arrest consolidation of "Hindu votes" in favour of his party.

"If we go to temples, we are branded as communal. But if Trinamool leaders visit temples, they remain secular. The Trinamool Congress is practicing soft Hindutva in Bengal to stop the consolidation of Hindu votes in favor of BJP," he said.

File image of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. PTI

The "so-called secular leaders" realised that the Hindus are uniting under BJP and secular leaders understood they would no longer be able to win elections by appeasement politics, Ghosh said.

Citing Congress President Rahul Gandhi's visit to temples in Gujarat during the Assembly poll campaign, he said Banerjee was taking lessons from him.