Trinamool nominee draws flak for 'Hindu' remarks in viral video

Kolkata: A purported video showing Prasun Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress candidate from the Howrah Lok Sabha constituency and former captain of the India football team, making objectionable comments on religious communities has gone viral on social media.

"Who are these so-called Hindus? Muslims came here 800 years ago. There were no Hindus back then... They didn't exist during the time of Taimur and Babur. The concept of Hindus only emerged 300-400 years ago," Banerjee could be heard saying in the purported video.

The West Bengal unit of the BJP, meanwhile, has launched a scathing attack against Banerjee, the sitting Trinamool MP from Howrah, and uploaded the said video on its official X handle.

Such comments from Banerjee are not just objectionable, but also historically inaccurate and incendiary, it said.

“Such disregard for historical facts and inflammatory language is unacceptable. His assertion that Hindus did not exist until a few centuries ago, and dismissing their historical presence during the significant periods, is not only historically inaccurate, but also incendiary,” read the message posted by the BJP on X.