‘Goli Maaro…’ Slogan Raised at BJP Leader Suvendu Adhikari’s Rally in Bengal

At a rally led by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari in Chandannagar city, the provocative “goli maaro..” slogan was raised on Wednesday. The slogan — “desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro…” (shoot the traitors) — was raised by a few BJP cadres, carrying the party flag along with the Indian Tricolour while they were trailing a truck carrying Adhikari and Hooghly MP Locket Chatterjee in the Rathtala area of the city.

They claimed that the slogan was aimed at the traitors of the country “some of whom are in the Trinamool Congress”. State BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said the party does not endorse these kind of slogans.

On Tuesday, a similar slogan was raised at a Trinamool Congress rally in south Kolkata with party activists calling for “shooting” the traitors of Bengal, in an apparent reference to the leaders who have switched over to the BJP. The BJP spokesperson said that the slogan raised at the Chandannagar rally was aimed at terrorists, plotting against the country, while the Trinamool Congress men openly threatened the leaders who have left the party, branding them as traitors.

“There is a difference between the two incidents but we disapprove of such slogans in our rally,” Bhattacharya said, refusing to specify if action will be taken against those who raised the slogan. Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said that though he condemns the slogan raised at the south Kolkata rally, the BJP needs to answer whether it wants to shoot the people opposed to its ideology.

“The BJP men are asking the Army to shoot the traitors. Does the BJP want to shoot the people opposed to their ideology?” he said. In March last year, three BJP “supporters” were arrested for raising the provocative slogan while heading to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally in Kolkata.