Mamata leads all-faith march, hits out at BJP

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee led an interfaith rally in the state capital on Monday in an ideological counter-show to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which led celebrations across the country to mark the opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

- 

Banerjee, who began the rally from Kalighat temple in Kolkata before visiting a church, a gurdwara and a mosque, led a procession of leaders from her Trinamool Congress (TMC) and hit out at the BJP at the culmination of the event.

"I am not against Ram. I respect both Ram and Sita. But why don't you (BJP) mention Sita's name? Are you antiwomen? Without Sita, Ram won't be there. Ram wouldn't have taken birth had Kaushalya not been there," Banerjee said.

The rally had religious leaders walking behind her, holding each other's hands, and TMC leaders, including the party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee who brought up the rear of the procession.