TMC's Sagarika Ghose slams BJP over absence of MPs at Tagore tribute event in Parliament

TMC's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Sagarika Ghosee alleged on Saturday that no BJP MP was present at a floral-tribute ceremony held in Parliament on Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary, as she accused the ruling party of using the Nobel laureate only for electoral purposes in West Bengal. ''Not a single sitting BJP MP present today at the floral tribute ceremony in Parliament on the birth anniversary of Kaviguru Rabindranath Tagore. No Speaker of Lok Sabha present either,'' the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader said in a post on X. ''For BJP grabbing power in Bengal matters more than Bengal. Tagore is only an election weapon for Narendra Modi-Amit Shah,'' she alleged. Highlighting her party's position, Ghose said, ''For AITC Bengal remains our eternal beloved motherland and Gurudev our pathfinder, our sage. Joy Bangla.'' Responding to Ghose's remarks, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said MPs are free to pay floral tributes to iconic personalities at any convenient location when Parliament is not in session. In a post on X, Rijiju said Ghose, despite being a ''new MP'', is aware of parliamentary practices. ''When Parliament is not in session, any MP who is present in Delhi may pay floral tributes to the iconic personalities on their anniversaries at Samvidhan Sadan, otherwise MPs can pay tributes at any convenient location,'' he said. Rijiju said Parliament officials and some former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs were present at the ceremony held at the Samvidhan Sadan. Accusing Ghose of politicising the issue, he said, ''Politics 24x7 is toxic. We didn't do politics by questioning the absence of Congress and TMC members.'' According to a statement issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, members of Parliament, former MPs and other dignitaries paid floral tributes to Tagore at his portrait in the Central Hall of the Samvidhan Sadan on the occasion of his birth anniversary. Lok Sabha Secretary-General Utpal Kumar Singh and former Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha were present at the event, besides Ghose. The statement described Tagore as India's first Nobel laureate whose literary and cultural contributions left a lasting impact on the country. It noted that his compositions -- ''Jana Gana Mana'' and ''Amar Shonar Bangla'' -- became the national anthems of India and Bangladesh respectively. The Lok Sabha Secretariat also said Tagore's portrait displayed in the Central Hall of the Samvidhan Sadan was painted by artist Atul Bose and unveiled by then President Rajendra Prasad on September 12, 1958.

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