"Would have made Hirak Rani": Amit Shah invokes Ray classic to take epic dig at Mamata

HOOGHLY: Union Home Minister Amit Shah drew a direct parallel between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the ruthless ruler from auteur Satyajit Ray's cult classic 'Hirak Rajar Deshe'.

Addressing a public meeting in the Hooghly district on Wednesday, ahead of the fifth phase of polling in Bengal on May 20, Shah said the legendary filmmaker would have helmed a sequel to 'Hiraj Rajar Deshe' titled 'Hirak Rani', if he were alive today.

The moniker 'Hirak Rani' has often been used by BJP heavyweight and the Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, as he accused her of presiding over a loot of public money and central funds.

"Satyajit Ray, as we all know, was one of Bengal's proud sons and a globally renowned filmmaker. His iconic film 'Hirak Rajar Deshe' made waves globally and is still fondly watched and remembered. Sadly, Ray wasn't around when Mamata Banerjee came to power in Bengal as he would have made a sequel to 'Hirak Rajar Desh', titled 'Hirak Rani', seeing her misrule. Mamata Banerjee is the Hirak Rani," Shah said with a smirk while campaigning in the Hooghly district on Wednesday.

The film, which came out in 1969, was a musical fantasy featuring screen giants Utpal Dutt in the role of the tyrant ruler 'Hirak Raja' and Soumitra Chatterjee as 'Udayan Pandit', a teacher who dared the king and aroused his peasants against his oppressive rule.

Hitting out at the TMC over the prevailing state of affairs in Bengal, the Union Home Minister said, "Violence, oppression and appeasement are rampant in the state."

Highlighting the contribution of Bengal's revolutionaries, many of whom remain unsung to this day, to the freedom movement, Shah said, "It is sad how the Communists and the Trinamool Congress worked to finish off nationalism in Bengal, the state which gave us 'Vande Mataram', 'Jana Gana Mana', while also playing a prominent role in our struggle for independence."

Expanding on the 'oppression' of people and the culture of political violence in the state, the Union Home Minister said, "They (TMC) took away the rights from poor, backward and Adivasis and gave them to infiltrators and their network of mafia and syndicates. As many as 53 of our supporters were killed in the last (2021) assembly elections in the state."

Shah was campaigning for the BJP's Hooghly candidate Locket Chatterjee, who is pitted against the TMC's Rachana Banerjee, an actor and a popular show host, in her bid to secure a fresh term in the Lok Sabha.

Polling in Bengal is being conducted across all seven phases and the counting of votes is scheduled for June 4.