West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said her governance model does not allow discrimination and she prioritises the welfare of all sections of society.
Addressing a gathering at Kellogg College at the University of Oxford on Thursday, she stressed the importance of inclusive development and stated that division in society is counterproductive.
"If I die, before my death, I want to see unity. Unity is our strength, and division leads to our fall. This was Swami Vivekananda's belief. Keeping unity is a difficult task, but dividing people takes only a moment. Do you think the world can sustain such divisive ideology?" she questioned.
"When I am in the chair, I cannot divide society. I have to look after the weaker sections and the poor. We have to work hard for them. At the same time, we must work for all religions, castes, and creeds together, move forward with them, and help them," she said.
Banerjee, who heads the Trinamool Congress, was speaking on 'Social Development -- Girl, Child and Women Empowerment in West Bengal'.
Pointing to West Bengal's diversity, she said people in the state celebrate all festivals together without discrimination.
"We have about 11 crore people in our state -- almost like a big country. Our beauty lies in the fact that more than 33 per cent of our people belong to minority communities, including Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Gorkhas. Around 6 per cent are tribals, and 23 per cent belong to Scheduled Castes. People of every caste, creed, and religion love each other," she said.
Banerjee underlined the need for a human-centric approach to governance.
"Our mission is to ensure that there is no discrimination among students, women, farmers, and workers. We must consider all people as human beings. Without humanity, this world cannot run, continue, or sustain -- I firmly believe so," she said.
Before her speech, Banerjee faced protests by a group of people at the University, where she was questioned regarding the RG Kar College case and post-poll violence in West Bengal.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Malviya shared a video where he claimed that the people seen in the video, purportedly belonging to the Bengali Hindus community had confronted Banerjee.
'Bengali Hindus confront West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Kellogg College in London, raising angry slogans calling her out for the rape and murder of the lady doctor at RG Kar, crimes against women in Sandeshkhali, the genocide of Hindus, and widespread corruption,' Malviya posted on X.
The BJP leader further called Mamata Banerjee a 'disgrace' to West Bengal.
'Just a few posters that were held up to Mamata Banerjee... She is a disgrace to West Bengal. The Hindu Bengali diaspora wants her out as the Chief Minister for destroying Bengal's legacy and putting them through such ignominy,' he added.
The video posted by the BJP showed the West Bengal CM facing several interruptions during which someone in the audience raised a question about the Hindus in Bengal.
"I am for all, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians," Banerjee responded, which was followed by 'Go back' slogans from a section of the audience.
The chief minister addressed one of the protesters as 'brother' and said, "Please remember this... and don't do politics. It's very easy to do politics here and create negative narratives."
In a video from the interaction posted by the Trinamool Congress, the Chief Minister then responded to the protestors saying, "You encourage me, Please smile with a hope that Didi will come every time, Didi don't get bothered, Didi don't bother anybody, Didi walk just like a Royal Bengal Tiger and if you can catch me."
Posting the video, the Trinamool Congress said, 'She (Mamata Banerjee) doesn't flinch. She doesn't falter. The more you heckle, the fiercer she roars. Mamata Banerjee is a Royal Bengal Tiger!'
TMC leader Saugata Roy said that the Students' Federation of India in the UK (SFI UK) did this to get 'publicity'.
In a statement, the SFI UK took responsibility for the protests, saying, 'SFI-UK held a demonstration in Kellogg College, Oxford against Mamata Banerjee's speech. We opposed her blatant lies by asking her for evidence of the social development she claims to pioneer. Instead of allowing us to peacefully express our opinions, the police were called...In support of the students and working masses of West Bengal, SFI-UK raised its voice in opposition to Mamata Banerjee and the TMC's corrupt, undemocratic rule.'
-- With ANI inputs
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