The Trinamool Congress has strongly criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party over reports suggesting a nationwide distribution of sindoor to women as part of a political outreach initiative. TMC leaders have denounced the move as a “dangerous and divisive tactic,” accusing the BJP of exploiting a sacred Hindu symbol for electoral gain.
BJP sources have indicated plans to distribute sindoor across the country, aiming to connect with women voters and reinforce cultural symbolism. This initiative is reportedly part of a broader campaign to highlight the government’s achievements, including the military operation named ‘Operation Sindoor.’
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been vocal in her opposition, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of politicising the military operation and questioning the propriety of the sindoor distribution. She remarked, “You are not the husband of everybody. Why are you not giving sindoor to your Mrs first?”
The BJP has dismissed these reports as “fake news,” with party spokespersons denying any such campaign. BJP MP Sambit Patra and IT cell head Amit Malviya have both refuted the claims, accusing the opposition of spreading misinformation to undermine the party’s image.
Despite the BJP’s denials, the controversy has sparked widespread debate. In Chinsurah, Hooghly, BJP women workers reportedly applied sindoor on female police officers during a protest, an act that drew criticism even from within the party’s state unit. TMC’s women’s wing chief, Chandrima Bhattacharya, condemned the incident, describing it as a display of “patriarchy, aporophobia, classism, and misogyny.”
Other political figures have also weighed in. Sunaina Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal questioned the BJP’s understanding of the cultural significance of sindoor, emphasising that it is traditionally applied by a woman in the name of only one man in her life. Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh criticised the BJP’s symbolic campaign, stating that it undermines the significance of sindoor as a symbol of women’s dignity.
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