Left opposes religious imposition, not religion: CPI(M) leader Salim

CPI(M) West Bengal secretary Mohammed Salim on Sunday alleged the BJP was trying to dictate the lifestyle of Bengalis and divide people along communal lines, telling a DYFI rally at Esplanade in Kolkata that the Left opposed religious imposition and not religion. He also accused Mamata Banerjee of using religion for political mileage. Salim said the BJP, in power since 2026, had declared war on unemployed youth, students and farmers, and alleged over 85,000 false cases against Red flag holders.

Written by AI from Left (CPI-M) · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 20 Sept 2026, 8:43 pm IST

Source

Left (CPI-M) · read the original report ↗

#cpim#bjp#west bengal#dyfi#communalism

Desk check · compared with the source

What the desk checked (5)

CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim said the Left opposes religious imposition, not religion. — Directly quoted and attributed to Salim at a DYFI rally at Esplanade, Kolkata.
Salim referred to Bageshwar Dham head priest Dhirendra Krishna Shastri's remarks on eating non-vegetarian food during Durga Puja. — Attributed as the reporter's contextual explanation of Salim's comment; the remarks themselves are not quoted in the source.
More than 85,000 false cases have been lodged against Red flag holders. — Figure appears in the source as Salim's own claim; no official or independent corroboration given.
BJP came to power in West Bengal in 2026 and Suvendu Adhikari is Chief Minister. — Stated in the source text; presented as background without separate attribution.
Salim alleged Mamata Banerjee used religion for political mileage and tried to rewrite Bengal's history. — Allegation attributed to Salim; no response from Banerjee or TMC included in the source.

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI Political Analyst

With power in Bengal having changed hands to the BJP, Salim's speech reads as an attempt to rebuild a distinct political space for the Left around the formula "not against religion, against religious imposition". By aiming the same charge at both the BJP and Mamata Banerjee, he is signalling that the Left wants to replace the Trinamool as the principal opposition rather than shelter behind it. Using the DYFI youth platform to foreground jobs, schools and farmers is a deliberate move to shift the debate from faith to livelihoods and accountability.

Shaking off the perception of being anti-religion has long been a hurdle for the Left, and neutralising that label is the central purpose of this framing.
Bracketing the BJP and the Trinamool together lets the Left pitch itself as the alternative to what it calls the communal politics of both.
The municipal elections due in the coming months are the immediate target, and the "triple-engine" jibe sets up the Left's campaign frame against the ruling party's expansion.
Raising unemployment, teacher recruitment and school closures is an effort to win back young voters by holding the new government to its election promises.
The claim of over 85,000 false cases is aimed at giving the cadre a moral narrative of lawful struggle under pressure.

What to watch — Watch whether the Left contests the municipal polls alone or moves towards any arrangement to avoid splitting the opposition vote, as that will shape its revival prospects.

These are allegations made by one party leader at a rally; the story carries no BJP or Trinamool response on the case numbers or school closures, and offers no evidence that Left support is actually growing.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 4 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

CPI(M) West Bengal secretary Mohammed Salim addressed a rally of the party's youth wing, DYFI, at Esplanade in central Kolkata, attacking the BJP government that came to power in West Bengal in 2026 as well as former chief minister Mamata Banerjee. He argued that the Left opposes the imposition of religion by the state, not religion itself, and accused both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress of using faith for political gain. The remarks came in the context of comments by Bageshwar Dham head priest Dhirendra Krishna Shastri on eating non-vegetarian food during Durga Puja. Salim also alleged a crackdown on Left activists through false cases.

Key facts

Salim spoke on Sunday, 20 September 2026, at a DYFI rally at Esplanade in central Kolkata.
He is the CPI(M)'s West Bengal unit secretary; DYFI is the party's youth wing.
Salim said the Left is not against religion but 'against religion imposition'.
He referred to Bageshwar Dham head priest Dhirendra Krishna Shastri's remarks on eating non-vegetarian food during Durga Puja.
He alleged the BJP, in power in Bengal since 2026, had 'declared war' on unemployed youth, students, universities, hawkers, small traders, workers and farmers under a 'double-engine government'.
Salim alleged the BJP was seeking a 'triple-engine government' by winning municipal elections due in the next few months.
He alleged Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari promised jobs to agitating teachers who lost their jobs, but now intends to close schools.
Salim alleged more than 85,000 false cases have been lodged against 'Red flag holders'.

Timeline

2011TMC came to power in West Bengal; Salim said the BJP and TMC project Bengal's story as beginning from this year.
2026BJP came to power in West Bengal; Suvendu Adhikari is Chief Minister.
20 September 2026 (Sunday)Salim addresses DYFI rally at Esplanade, Kolkata, attacking BJP and Mamata Banerjee over use of religion.
Next few months (from September 2026)Municipal elections due in West Bengal.

Who has a stake

CPI(M) and DYFI — Seeking political revival in Bengal; allege over 85,000 false cases against Left activists while claiming to fight within democratic norms.
BJP government in West Bengal — Accused of communal polarisation, rewriting history and unmet poll promises; aiming to win municipal polls for a 'triple-engine' government.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari — Accused of reneging on a promise of jobs to agitating teachers and of intending to close schools.
Mamata Banerjee (former chief minister) and TMC — Accused of using religion for political mileage and of rewriting Bengal's history from 2011.
Unemployed youth, students, teachers, hawkers, small traders, workers, farmers — Named by Salim as groups affected by the new government's policies; youth 'seeking accountability'.
Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, Bageshwar Dham head priest — His remarks on non-vegetarian food during Durga Puja became the trigger for the 'outside gurus' and lifestyle dictation charge.

Why it matters

The speech marks how the Left is positioning itself in a post-TMC, BJP-ruled Bengal: not as anti-religion, but against state-sponsored religiosity, while contesting both rivals on secularism and livelihoods. With municipal elections due within months, the framing of religion, jobs and alleged misuse of criminal cases will shape Bengal's next electoral contest.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

CPI(M)'s youth wing is DYFI; Mohammed Salim is the party's West Bengal unit secretary.
Bageshwar Dham head priest named in the story: Dhirendra Krishna Shastri.
BJP came to power in West Bengal in 2026; Suvendu Adhikari is named as Chief Minister.
'Double-engine government' refers to the same party ruling at the Centre and the State; 'triple-engine' extends it to local bodies.
Salim alleged over 85,000 false cases against 'Red flag holders' (Left activists).
Municipal elections in West Bengal were due within a few months of September 2026.

Mains framing

Salim's speech reframes the secularism debate in Bengal around the distinction between religion as private faith and religion as state instrument: he argues the government's duties are running schools and colleges, generating employment, building infrastructure and providing social security, not propagating any religion. He accuses both the BJP and, earlier, the TMC of instrumentalising faith to polarise communities and of rewriting national and state history, while alleging that the promises of the 2026 election — notably jobs for teachers who lost their posts — have been abandoned within months. The allegation of more than 85,000 false cases against Left activists raises the question of the misuse of criminal process against political opponents, a governance and rule-of-law concern distinct from electoral rhetoric. The way forward suggested by the speech itself is institutional accountability: contesting the municipal elections due in the coming months, insisting on democratic and legal means of protest, and shifting political debate from identity and lifestyle prescriptions to verifiable delivery on jobs, education and social security. As a source-based caution, the counter-claims of the BJP and TMC are not stated in the source.

Key terms

CPI(M): Communist Party of India (Marxist); its West Bengal unit secretary is Mohammed Salim.
DYFI: Democratic Youth Federation of India, the CPI(M)'s youth wing, which held the Esplanade rally.
Double-engine government: Term for the same party governing at the Centre and in the State, invoked here for BJP-ruled Bengal.
Triple-engine government: Salim's jibe at BJP's aim to also control municipal bodies after the upcoming civic polls.
Red flag holders: Left activists and supporters; Salim alleged over 85,000 false cases lodged against them.
Religious imposition: State or political enforcement of religious practice or lifestyle, which Salim says the Left opposes, unlike religion itself.

Practice questions

Distinguish between opposition to religion and opposition to religious imposition in the Indian secular framework, using recent political debate in West Bengal as illustration.
Critically examine the 'double-engine government' argument in Indian federal politics and its extension to local bodies.
Allegations of large numbers of politically motivated criminal cases test the rule of law. Discuss safeguards available against the misuse of criminal process against political opponents.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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