BJP to distribute sindoor? Trinamool calls proposal disrespectful, dangerous

Amid reports that the BJP plans to distribute vermillion among women, the Trinamool Congress has vehemently opposed the move, calling it a "dangerous and divisive tactic".

The Trinamool Congress slammed the BJP for "politicising" sindoor and accused the party of misusing the sacred Hindu symbol for electoral and communal gains, warning that such moves risk deepening religious divides.

BJP sources have indicated the party plans to distribute sindoor across the country as part of a larger public outreach campaign, aimed at connecting with women voters and reinforcing cultural symbolism.

"Sindoor holds deep spiritual significance for Hindu women. Exploiting it for political mileage is not only disrespectful but also dangerous," Trinamool MP Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar told India Today.

The party also alleged that the BJP's tactics are reminiscent of the “divisive” strategies once employed by the CPI(M), calling it a “low political gesture.”

The TMC warns that such overtures may mask a deeper agenda to pit communities against each other. “This is not outreach, this is outcry politics,” said Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, adding that the move reflects BJP's “desperation” following stiff opposition in Bengal and other states.

The Congress, too, has come down heavily on the BJP for using Operation Sindoor as a political tool, with Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak saying that it was being used as a 'shield' to hide the failures of the Modi government.

The political slugfest comes just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to West Bengal, where he criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party for violence in Murshidabad and Malda, calling them a reflexion of her government's cruelty and indifference. Banerjee, too, hit back at Modi and accused the BJP of politicising Operation Sindoor.