Trinamool Congress MP Sayoni Ghosh’s speech with religious songs has once again gone viral, this time for its message of pluralism. The Lok Sabha member was addressing a crowd in Bhabanipur, West Bengal, where she chanted songs from multiple religions while speaking about the diversity of the region.
In the video, Ghosh describes Bhabanipur, where TMC chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting the Assembly elections, as a “mini India”, where people of different faiths and communities live together.
She accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to divide these spaces.
Sharing the clip herself, Ghosh wrote: “Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, we will live among ourselves as brothers.”
“From one of the houses you can hear the chant, ‘Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu Shakti Rupen Sansthita, Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah…’,” she said, addressing the audience in a mix of Bengali and Hindi, while also singing in Punjabi.
“O Devi” is a famous Sanskrit mantra from the Hindu religious script “Durga Saptashathi” honoring the Mother Goddess as the power within all beings. Sanskrit verses are commonly used in Bengal during Durga Puja and Navratri.
“From another neighborhood you can hear, ‘There is no god but God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God, in the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,’ evoking Muslim prayers in praise of God or one God,” Ghosh said in her speech.
“Nearby, from another lane,” she continued, she heard “Jai Hanuman gyan john sagar, jay kabis tihun lok ujagar…” as she sang lines from the famous Hindu hymn “Hanuman Chalisa.”
As Sikhism invoked: “From elsewhere, we hear, ‘Ek Onkar, Satnam, Karta Purakh, Nirbhau, Nirveer, Akal Murat, Ajuni, Saibhang, Gur Prasad…” This is the Mul Mantar prayer, the fundamental prayer of the faith founded by Guru Nanak.
“All of this exists together; yet the BJP is raising its hand to divide this space,” Ghosh said. The crowd cheered.
Bhabanipur is set to witness a direct contest again between CM Banerjee and BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated her in Nandigram in the previous elections.
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Sayoni Ghosh’s song and the Kaaba Medina
Ghosh, who is also an actress and musician, had earlier faced criticism from the BJP and other allied forces when during the election campaign she sang the popular song that goes, “The Kaaba is in the heart and the city is in the eyes.”
BJP leaders called this communalism. “One of her MPs declares that the Kaaba is in her heart and Medina is in her eyes. I want to tell her that we have Mahakali in our hearts and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in our eyes,” said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, speaking at an election rally in Bengal.
Ghosh’s statements in Parliament
Ghosh, a first-time MP from Jadavpur, also had a voice in Parliament. In March, she claimed that there was “almost no democracy left” in Parliament, claiming that the voices of opposition members had been suppressed.
While participating in the discussion on a resolution seeking to remove Om Birla from the post of Speaker, Ghosh said she did not have any personal complaints against him.
“But this is a matter of neutrality and dignity. There is no longer any democracy in Parliament. Our opinions are being crushed. How can we fight for the people when we are fighting for our rights?” She added that Parliament, which was supposed to serve as a platform for policy making, has turned into an advertising platform.
