Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said West Bengal would not allow ethnic clashes to happen in the state though divisive forces are trying to disturb the social fabric.

She was addressing a gathering at Dhana Dhanya auditorium this afternoon to celebrate the 162nd birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. She said Gurudeb not only fought for our country’s Independence but also taught us to uphold the values and culture of India. He had returned his Knighthood to protest against the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh.

She said, “Time has come when we should follow the ideas of Tagore. He talked of universal brotherhood and this can save our planet. Love and not hate was the cardinal philosophy Tagore had propagated,” she maintained, adding that “We should take a pledge on this auspicious occasion to save our society from division.” Without naming the Union home minister Amit Shah, who had gone to Jorasanko to pay tribute to Tagore and attended a meeting to celebrate his birth anniversary at Salt Lake, she said, “Just for winning election, some opposition parties try to appropriate Gurudev’s lessons to buy votes from the people.

They keep making wrong statements and actions all the time, be it erroneously, referring Santiniketan as Tagore’s birthplace or by destroying the statue of Vidyasagar. She further said, “The opposition leaders do not know much about Gurudev’s life. This is why before elections, they write down what needs to be said and read the script from the teleprompter. These leaders talk about lofty ideas, but deep down Gurudev is missing from their souls.”

Miss Banerjee urged youngsters to get acquainted with the works of Tagore. “They should know multiple languages but at the same time should know our mother tongue,” she remarked. The state government has organized culture events, which will be held at Rabindra Sadan, Nandan, Sishir Mancha and Bangla Academy between 10 May and 24 May. More than 3,000 artists will take part in these shows. Miss Banerjee ended her speech by quoting from Tagore’s poem: “Where the mind is without fear….”

The 162nd birth anniversary of Tagore was observed with great enthusiasm across the state. In West Bengal Legislative Assembly state agriculture minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay garlanded Tagore’s portrait.