Union Home Minister Amit Shah (left) and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Shah changed the name of the character 'Hirak Raja' from the 1969 film to take a dig at Banerjee.
Polling in West Bengal has been scheduled in all seven phases, with four phases concluded and the next scheduled for May 20.
Sadly, Ray wasn't around when Mamata Banerjee came to power in Bengal as he would have made a sequel to 'Hirak Rajar Desh', titled 'Hirak Rani', seeing her misrule.
Mamata Banerjee is the Hirak Rani,” Shah said while campaigning in the Hooghly district.
Union home minister Amit Shah compared West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee to the character of a ruthless ruler in Satyajit Ray's cult classic ‘Hirak Rajar Deshe,’ saying that if the director were alive today, he would create a sequel to the movie titled 'Hirak Rani,' referring to her alleged misrule. Union Home Minister Amit Shah (left) and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Shah changed the name of the character 'Hirak Raja' from the 1969 film to take a dig at Banerjee. Polling in West Bengal has been scheduled in all seven phases, with four phases concluded and the next scheduled for May 20.
Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India's general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now!
Shah spoke at a campaign rally in West Bengal's Hooghly to support Locket Chatterjee. She is the candidate running against TMC's Rachana Banerjee, an actor and popular show host, who is seeking to secure a new term in the Lok Sabha.
“Satyajit Ray, as we all know, was one of Bengal's proud sons and a globally renowned filmmaker. His iconic film 'Hirak Rajar Deshe' made waves globally and is still fondly watched and remembered. Sadly, Ray wasn't around when Mamata Banerjee came to power in Bengal as he would have made a sequel to 'Hirak Rajar Desh', titled 'Hirak Rani', seeing her misrule. Mamata Banerjee is the Hirak Rani,” Shah said while campaigning in the Hooghly district.
Criticising the TMC for the current conditions in Bengal, Amit Shah stated, “Violence, oppression and appeasement are rampant in the state.”
Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal assembly and a BJP leader, has frequently used the moniker 'Hirak Rani' to accuse Banerjee of “overseeing the looting of public money and central funds.”
The film, released in 1969, was a musical fantasy starring screen legends Utpal Dutt as the tyrant ruler ‘Hirak Raja’ and Soumitra Chatterjee as 'Udayan Pandit,' a teacher who defied the king and inspired the peasants to revolt against his oppressive regime.
Emphasising the contributions of Bengal's revolutionaries to the freedom movement, Shah said, “It is sad how the Communists and the Trinamool Congress worked to finish off nationalism in Bengal, the state which gave us 'Vande Mataram', 'Jana Gana Mana', while also playing a prominent role in our struggle for independence.”
Mamata Banerjee's post-poll plan
Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday declared that her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), will provide external support to the opposition INDIA alliance to help form the government at the Centre.
“BJP is claiming that it will win 400 seats, but people are saying it will not happen. The entire country has understood that the BJP is a party full of thieves. We (TMC) will support the INDIA bloc from outside to form a government at the Centre,” the TMC chief said at a rally in Hooghly.
"We will extend our support so that in (West) Bengal, our mothers and sisters never face a problem... and those who work in the 100 days' job scheme, also do not face problems," she added.
Although the TMC remains part of the INDIA bloc, it has decided to contest independently in Bengal. Meanwhile, the Congress and the Left Front have a seat-sharing agreement in the state, with the Left parties contesting 30 seats and the Congress contesting the remaining 12 seats.
(With ANI inputs)
