CM barb at BJP’s Christmas diktat

KOLKATA: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday hit out at the BJP-led government at the Centre for choosing Christmas to observe Good Governance Day, saying she “strongly disagreed” with the idea. The Sangh Parivar’s ‘ghar wapsi’ campaign also came under sharp criticism at a St Xavier’s College programme.
After wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Mamata said, “Our country is vast but secular.Why should there be a religious divide? Would anybody like to go to work on Ashtami during Durga Puja? Christmas is a festival of joy, peace and humanity. I strongly disagree when someone says Christmas should be observed as Good Governance Day.”
St Xavier’s College principal Felix Raj also disapproved of the idea. “Every day is Good Governance Day,” he said. While calling those who fight as “brainless”, the chief minister prayed that “they see sense”.
Mamata also urged the college authorities to fast-track their efforts to set up their second campus in Rajarhat. Two years ago, Mamata had given the college a 16.44-acre plot in Rajarhat. The college, on its part, had promised to invest Rs 510 crore in the state’s education sector by 2020.
Bishop Thomas D'Souza, urban development minister Firhad Hakim and Kolkata Police commissioner also attended the programme.