After Mamata disparages the Ramakrishna Mission and the Sevashram Monks, TMC is in damage control mode; the controversy is explained

As the West Bengal chief minister claimed that some of the monks were employed by the BJP, a type of controversy around Mamata Banerjee and the Bharat Sevashram Sangha (BSS) has emerged with the Lok Sabha Election being in its last phase.

In the last three days, Banerjee has once again singled out a well-known BSS monk and accused him of inciting disturbances during last month’s Ram Navami processions in Beldanga, Murshidabad.

At a public event on Monday in the Bishnupur seat of the Bankura district, Banerjee subsequently clarified, saying, “I am not against the Ramakrishna Mission.” Why should I disdain an institution and be against it? When Maharaj (the previous head of the RKM) was unwell, I even went to see him. I’ve just mentioned one or two individuals. People at Bharat Sevashram Sangha adore me and they perform amazing charitable work for the community. Kartik Maharaj is the name I merely mentioned. He forbade our representatives from entering voting places. He incited a disturbance in the district of Murshidabad two days before the election. I chose his name because of this, as The Indian Express reported.

The leader of the BSS’s Beldanga section, Swami Pradiptananda, better known as Kartik Maharaj, has addressed a formal letter to the supremo of the Trinamool Congress demanding an unreserved apology within 48 hours.

Pradiptananda’s attorney, Billwadal Bhattacharyya, stated in the notice that he would “call upon you [Banerjee] to forthwith address the press, issue an unconditional apology, retract your virulent and malafide statement within 48 hours from receipt of the instant notice and cease and desist from making further similar statements against my client, defaming and maligning my client,” as reported by Hindustan Times.

“In my legal notice, I stated that the CM’s false accusations have caused reactions among monks and devotees,” Pradiptananda told the reporters. I requested that she (in the notice) provide evidence to support the claims she made. If not, she needs to apologize wholeheartedly. He said that Banerjee’s remarks were very defamatory and threatened to file a lawsuit if Banerjee did not respond in four days.

But BSS has disassociated itself from Swami Pradiptananda’s statements. The Times of India cited Swami Biswatmananda, the senior secretary of the BSS headquarters, as saying that “the order respects Banerjee for the work she does for the poor.” The views made by Pradiptananda were “not endorsed” by BSS and were made in his own capacity. “This wasn’t the right thing to say. It’s regrettable. There was no request for authorization from BSS headquarters. We’ll look at it,” he said.

Exactly what happened?
Pradiptananda said, “All parties have cordial relations with me,” during his protest. I’ve even had visits from TMC leaders. So did leaders of the Congress and BJP. Some folks in Beldanga believe that I am their protector. It is devoid of politics.

He chastised Banerjee for failing to respond to a contentious comment made by her party’s MLA, Humayun Kabir, on the community. He went on, “I have the right to defend my religion.”

Mamata had mentioned Kartik Maharaj at a rally on Saturday in Jayrambati, Hooghly, the birthplace of Sarada Devi, the wife of Sri Ramakrishna, saying, “I do not consider him a monk as he is directly involved in politics and is ruining the country.” I held the Bharat Sevashram Sangha in high regard in the past.

Banerjee also said that some Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) members were BJP employees. She continued by saying that the Ramakrishna Missionaries received their “instructions from Delhi.” According to The Indian Express, Banerjee said, “Some monks of the Ramakrishna Mission and Bharat Sevashram Sangha are working under the influence of BJP leaders in Delhi.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to Banerjee as the TMC’s vote bank, accused her on Sunday of “bad-mouthing” and “threatening” ISKCON, RKM, and BSS in order to protect Muslims and infiltrators.

“The chief minister is defaming and slandering our wonderful organizations in an effort to win votes, thanks to pressure from radical Muslim groups.” Bengal’s history and culture are being disparaged by TMC. They constantly disparage Ram Mandir [in Ayodhya] using foul language. At a rally in Bankura, Modi questioned, “Would you not respond with your votes to TMC’s appeasement politics?”

ABOUT THE MISSION RAMKRISHNA
While Swami Vivekananda, who has been designated as one of the RSS’s idols, launched the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897, the Sevashram Sangha was created in 1917 by the monk Pranabananda Maharaj and is most recognized for its humanitarian aid efforts around the nation amid natural disasters.

Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are closely tied in many other respects and should be considered twin organizations, although they are legally and financially independent. Belur, West Bengal, is home to its headquarters, Belur Math.

Claiming a deep relationship with the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, PM Modi expressed his sympathies in June 2017 upon the death of Swami Atmasthananda, the organization’s leader, referring to it as a “personal loss.” He shared on X that Swami Atmasthananda of Rajkot, Gujarat, had given him spiritual advice. “He was my roommate during a very significant time in my life.”

An organization dedicated to Vaishnava Hinduism, ISKCON stands for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.