Amidst the furore over Mahua Moitra’s remarks on Goddess Kali as a ‘meat-eating and alcohol-accepting’ deity, a look at the TMC MP’s most controversial statements
Even as an FIR was registered against Mahua Moitra in Bhopal for allegedly “outraging religious feelings” over her comment on Goddess Kali, the TMC MP remained unapologetic.
Moitra on Wednesday, daring the saffron party to “bring it on” and saying she was not afraid of its “goons”, said that she was a “Kali worshipper and not afraid of anything”.
Moitra had on Tuesday triggered a controversy with her remarks that she has every right as “an individual to imagine Goddess Kali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess”, as every person has the right to worship god and goddess in his or her own way.
This isn’t the first time the TMC MP has caused controversy. Let’s take a look at some of her controversial statements:
‘Same Xiaomi’
In April, Moitra raised questions over the government accepting donations from Xiaomi, the same company whose deposits were seized by the Enforcement Directorate on charges of violating the foreign exchange law, as per Hindustan Times.
Broaching the issue which had been raised by the Congress in 2020 during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mahua Moitra tweeted questions like these were stonewalled in Parliament.
‘Not moral science teacher for LS’ In February, Moitra was her fiery self as she took on the government over various issues while participating in the Motion of Thanks on the president’s address to a joint sitting of Parliament.
Presiding officer Rama Devi then interrupting her mid-sentence – which seemed to take Moitra by surprise – asked Moitra to “speak with love” and “not to get so angry”. While Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader seemed to have taken the disruption sportingly. quoted poet Ramdhari Singh “Dinkar” — “the world worships tolerance, forgiveness and mercy only when the mirror of power shines behind it” — in response.
She added, “We will bring tolerance and forgiveness, but a little power will also come from behind”, said she will keep the chair’s suggestion in mind and continued with her speech. However, less than an hour later Moitra took a different tack, slamming the presiding officer and saying she is not the “moral science teacher for LS”.
“LS Speaker had allotted AT LEAST 13 mins to me, when confronted in his chamber he claimed he was not in chair hence can’t be blamed. When further cornered he said, ‘It was my greatness that I even allowed you 13 minutes in 1st place’. Unbelievable,” Moitra tweeted.
“And who is Chair to interrupt me (taking up MY valuable time) to lecture me on whether I should speak with gussa (anger) or pyar (love)? None of your business Madam. You can only correct me on rules. You are NOT the moral science teacher of LS,” Moitra tweeted.
Remark on Jain community
During a speech in the Lok Sabha in February 2022, the Trinamool Congress MP had referred to the community when she mentioned the ban on the sale of non-veg food on the Ahmedabad streets (which was later revoked).
“You fear a future India which is comfortable in its own skin. Which is comfortable with conflicting realities. So you fear an India where a Jain boy can hide from home and enjoy a kathi kabab on a street cart in Ahmedabad. So you forbid non vegetarian street food in Gujarat’s municipalities,” Moitra said, as per The Wire.
Members of the Jain community took to the streets in protest. A delegation of around 500 Jains submitted a memorandum to Ahmedabad Collector seeking an apology from Moitra and to expunge her remarks from Lok Sabha records, as per Indian Express.
Speaking to Indian Express, Amit Shah said that he led the delegation as a member of Jain community. He added, “The comments made by Moitra are like a slap on the face of the entire Jain community. Our community believes in compassion for every living being. There were two representatives from each derasar in Ahmedabad to protest at the collector’s office.”
A slew of BJP leaders also demanded an apology from Moitra.
“Jainism is one of the oldest religions of the world. It teaches liberation and harmlessness. @MahuaMoitra, Please don’t drag Jainism into your so-called politics. we will not tolerate! Jai Jinendra!,” tweeted CR Paatil.
Chief minister Bhupendra Patel and his predecessor Vijay Rupani also sought an apology from the Trinamool Congress for Moitra’s comments.
While CM Patel took to social media to point out that the TMC MP has hurt Jain sentiments, Rupani, a Jain himself, tweeted: “I strongly condemn the statement made by @MahuaMoitra of TMC (the party that has perpetrated widespread violence in the WB) about the Jain youth of Gujarat. She must not forget that the core foundation of Jainism is non-violence. TMC must render an apology over this insulting statement.”
Senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said “a conspiracy has been done under a dangerous mindset to mislead the world over that community.”
‘So much fuss?’
Amidst a spat between the Centre and West Bengal over Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee making Prime Minister Narendra Modi wait about 30 minutes for a meeting called to assess the impact of Cyclone Yaas in the state and then leaving in short order, Moitra took to Twitter to take a dig at the prime minister.
Mamata was to attend a cyclone damage review with Modi but left after handing him a report.
“You wanted to meet me that is why I have come today. Me and my Chief Secretary want to submit this report to you. Now we have a meeting at Digha so we seek your permission to leave,” the Chief Minister was quoted as saying by NDTV.
The alleged snub took place when Prime Minister landed at Kalaikunda airbase in Bengal after an aerial survey of cyclone damage in the state and in Odisha.
Attacking Ranjan Gogoi in Parliament
In February 2021, Moitra attacked former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, a nominated Rajya Sabha MP, in Parliament.
Moitra, bringing up the sexual harassment charge against Gogoi and the way in which it was dealt with in the apex court albeit without naming him, claimed the judiciary was no longer sacred.
“The sacred cow that was the judiciary is no longer sacred,” Moitra said. “It stopped being sacred the day a sitting chief justice of this country was accused of sexual harassment, presided over his own trial, cleared himself and then proceeded to accept a nomination to the Upper House of Parliament within three months of his retirement replete with Z plus security.”
Moitra added, “The judiciary stopped being sacred when it squandered the opportunity to guard the founding principles of the Constitution.”
Gogoi had denied the allegations during a special hearing he called on 20 April 2019. The ex-chief justice had said he did not “deem it appropriate” to reply to the allegations but claimed they were part of a “bigger plot”, possibly one to “deactivate the office of the CJI”.
A defiant Moitra tweeted:
The remarks were later expunged from House records.
‘Two paise worth’
Moitra in December 2020 created outrage after calling a reporter “two -paisa worth” in a video.
The Krishnanagar MP was seen asking a person to leave the venue of a party meeting after he introduced himself as a reporter. The incident occurred in Nadia district.
“Who has called ‘du poisar’ [two-paisa worth] press here? Do remove these elements from the venue. Some of our party members invite such people to closed-door meetings to see their faces on TV. This is not done,” Moitra was heard saying in the video.
In a statement, the Kolkata Press Club said it was deeply concerned about the comments and asked Moitra to withdraw the remarks. “In a democratic setup, the importance of journalism and the respect it commands is known to all. Journalists braving adverse situations as part of their professional struggle and social response.”
“Her statement is undoubtedly unwarranted and humiliating as in a democracy the importance of a journalist and respect for his/her profession is recognised universally.
“The fight and struggle by a journalist for his profession and his/her social responsibility is known to all. None has the right to insult a media person, we condemn the MP’s comment and express hope that she will withdraw it immediately and tender her apology,” it said.
Not only did Moitra not apologise, she in fact doubled down.
“I apologise for the mean, hurtful, accurate things I said… My meme editing skills are improving,” she said.
Expressing dismay over Moitra’s counter, Press Club Kolkata president Snehasis Sur said journalists are hurt at the way “she made light of her initial comments”.
“Everyone can comprehend what she wanted to convey in the Twitter post,” Sur said.
TMC distances itself, Tharoor comes to defence
Distancing itself from Moitra’s comment, the TMC on Tuesday tweeted “the comments made by @MahuaMoitra at the #IndiaTodayConclaveEast2022 and her views expressed on Goddess Kali have been made in her personal capacity and are NOT ENDORSED BY THE PARTY in ANY MANNER OR FORM. All India Trinamool Congress strongly condemns such comments.”
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said he is “taken aback by the attack” on Moitra and urged people to “lighten up and leave religion” to individuals to practice privately.
Earlier, Tharoor said he was “taken aback by the attack” on the Trinamool Congress MP, and urged people to “lighten up and leave religion” to individuals to practice privately.
In a series of tweets, he said, “I am no stranger to malicious manufactured controversy, but am still taken aback by the attack on @MahuaMoitra for saying what every Hindu knows, that our forms of worship vary widely across the country. What devotees offer as bhog (offering) says more about them than about the goddess”.
“We have reached a stage where no one can say anything publicly about any aspect of religion without someone claiming to be offended. It’s obvious that
@MahuaMoitra wasn’t trying to offend anyone. I urge every1 to lighten up & leave religion to individuals to practice privately,” he said.
BJP demands arrest
Demanding her arrest, the Bengal BJP said it would move the court if no action was initiated against her in 10 days by the police.
Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said hundreds of police complaints had been lodged against Moitra across the state.
“The TMC government and the state police have been very active in seeking police action against Nupur Sharma. But they have not taken any action against Mahua Moitra. There can’t be a different set of rules for BJP and TMC leaders. We will wait for ten days and then move the court,” he said.
“According to the norms of the Sanatan Hindu dharma, Goddess Kali is never worshipped as a goddess who consumes alcohol and meat. Hindus had been revering Goddess Kali for ages as a symbol of power against evil. Her comments have hurt religious sentiments. We demand her arrest in light of the statement against Goddess Kali,” BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said.
In BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, the crime branch of the state police has registered an FIR against the TMC MP under section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (outraging religious feelings), an official said in Bhopal.
“Moitra’s statement has hurt the religious feelings of Hindus. We will not tolerate disrespect to any Hindu Gods and Goddesses at any cost,” Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in a statement.
The FIR was registered on the complaint of a local tea-seller, who accused Moitra of hurting his religious feelings, according to the police.
Moitra’s controversial comment came just days after suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma created a controversy with her remarks on Prophet Mohammad, which triggered protests across the nation and angry reactions from the Gulf nations.
The Kolkata Police has summoned Sharma in connection with the comment.
BJP’s Mahila Morcha also staged a protest in Kolkata and demanded the arrest of Moitra.
With inputs from agencies
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