West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday alleged that human rights have been "totally violated" in Kashmir, drawing a sharp reaction from the BJP which said wryly she is speaking language of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan as part of her "muslim-appeasement policy".
Banerjee's comment came by way of tweet on the occasion of World Humanitarian Day.
The TMC supremo said she had once taken to the streets to protest against human rights violations.
"Today is World Humanitarian Day. Human rights have been totally violated in #Kashmir. Let us pray for human rights and peace in #Kashmir.
"Human rights is a subject very close to my heart. In 1995, I was on the road for 21 days to protect human rights violations against deaths in lock-ups," the CM tweeted.
The BJP-led central government recently revoked provisions of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and bifurcated the state into union territories - Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature and Ladakh without one.
The TMC chief, whose party opposed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill and staged a walkout during voting in the Parliament, has spoken against method in which it was done and also against detention of three former CMs of the valley (Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti) theraftrer.
The West Bengal unit of the BJP did not take her remark kindly and gave a strong retort.
BJP state general secretary Sayantan Basu accused her of speaking in the language of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and said Banerjee's assertions seem driven by her muslim appeasement efforts.
"It seems she is busy in appeasing minority community that is why she has started speaking the language of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Her comments are actually helping Pakistan. We condemn it," Basu said.
If she keeps on making such comments people of Bengal would soon march to her residence and she would face fierce protest, he said while addressing a press conference along with another state general secretary Raju Banerjee.
"It is quite astonishing that a person holding a constitutional post is making such anti-India comments. Just because you need to appease Muslim community doesn't mean you will speak and work against the interests of the nation. Is she is a politician from India or from Pakistan," Basu said.
From the day Article 370 has been abolished and the state of Jammu&Kashmir has been bifurcated into two union territories,she has been making anti-India sentiments, he said.
After the Pulawama attack and retalitory Balakot strikes by Indian Air Force on February this year she had questioned our armed forces and the authencity of the strikes.
The sole reason is appeasement of Muslims. "Given a chance she would turn West Bengal into West Bangladesh", Basu said.
In a strong rebuttal to the BJP's allegation, TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said the saffron party has a "bad habit" of branding whosoever doesn't agree with their views and policies as "anti-national".
"The BJP has a bad habit every opposition party as anti- national, as if they are the sole custodian of nationalism. We don't need lessons from BJP on nationalism," Chatterjee said.
The war of words between the two parties that started from the time of general election is getting intense now.
Buoyed by stupendous performance in the Parliamentary election when it won 18 out of a total 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal, only four less than the TMC, BJP leaders have been asserting that their next target was to unseat Baneerjee from the power in the 2021 state polls.
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