{"id":214999,"date":"2026-04-08T14:08:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T08:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsfed.in\/english\/?p=214999"},"modified":"2026-04-08T14:08:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T08:38:04","slug":"erase-lotus-or-lose-lakshmir-bhandar-tmc-leaders-open-threat-triggers-political-storm-in-memari","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsfed.in\/english\/erase-lotus-or-lose-lakshmir-bhandar-tmc-leaders-open-threat-triggers-political-storm-in-memari\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Erase Lotus or Lose Lakshmir Bhandar&#8221;! TMC Leader\u2019s Open Threat Triggers Political Storm in Memari"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The political discourse in West Bengal\u2019s Memari has taken a controversial turn following a provocative speech by Gita Das, the TMC President of Memari Block 1 Women\u2019s Wing. During a campaign rally for TMC candidate Rasbehari Haldar, Das issued an ultimatum to local residents, stating that those who have the BJP\u2019s \u2018Lotus\u2019 symbol painted on their house walls must erase it immediately or face the termination of their \u2018Lakshmir Bhandar\u2019 benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Expanding on her verbal assault, she alleged, &#8220;People should be ashamed of criticizing Mamata Banerjee while taking money from PM Modi for liquor and meat. They take benefits from our CM but promote the BJP on their walls. Chase them away with brooms when they come for votes.&#8221; These remarks have drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties. BJP candidate Manab Guha remarked that such threats stem from a fear of losing, while CPM candidate Krishanu Bhadra termed it an assault on democratic rights, questioning how a government scheme could be weaponized for partisan politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the backlash, Gita Das stood firm on her stance, arguing that since TMC workers facilitated the scheme&#8217;s enrollment, beneficiaries have no moral right to promote the opposition. As the election fever peaks, this clash over government aid and political symbols has become a focal point of the campaign in Hooghly and its surrounding districts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The political discourse in West Bengal\u2019s Memari has taken a controversial turn following a provocative speech by Gita Das, the TMC President of Memari Block 1 Women\u2019s Wing. During a campaign rally for TMC candidate Rasbehari Haldar, Das issued an ultimatum to local residents, stating that those who have the BJP\u2019s \u2018Lotus\u2019 symbol painted on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":215000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-214999","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest-news"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&quot;Erase Lotus or Lose Lakshmir Bhandar&quot;! 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During a campaign rally for TMC candidate Rasbehari Haldar, Das issued an ultimatum to local residents, stating that those who have the BJP\u2019s \u2018Lotus\u2019 symbol painted on [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newsfed.in\/english\/erase-lotus-or-lose-lakshmir-bhandar-tmc-leaders-open-threat-triggers-political-storm-in-memari\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ekjhalak English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-08T08:38:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/newsfed.in\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/chgfhg-93.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1279\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"669\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Author\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Author\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfed.in\\\/english\\\/erase-lotus-or-lose-lakshmir-bhandar-tmc-leaders-open-threat-triggers-political-storm-in-memari\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfed.in\\\/english\\\/erase-lotus-or-lose-lakshmir-bhandar-tmc-leaders-open-threat-triggers-political-storm-in-memari\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Author\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfed.in\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2675bfb1eca0a20263624f94dfec6582\"},\"headline\":\"&#8220;Erase Lotus or Lose Lakshmir Bhandar&#8221;! 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