PM Modi's "Bankim Da" statement row: TMC MPs hold silent protest in Parliament

A fresh political storm erupted in Parliament after PM Narendra Modi affectionately called Bengal’s literary legend Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay “Bankim Da” during a speech yesterday while celebrating 150 years of Vande Mataram. In Bengali culture, great writers and elders are respectfully addressed as “Babu”, but this casual “Da” (elder brother) felt like a downgrade to many. TMC MP Saugata Roy interrupted the PM thrice, insisting “at least say Babu”. Modi smiled, paused, and instantly corrected himself to “Bankim Babu”, saying he respected the sentiment.

Yet the Trinamool Congress declared the damage done and turned the moment into a full-blown protest over “insult to Bengal’s pride”.The anger did not stop inside the Lok Sabha. Today morning, TMC MPs staged a silent protest in Parliament, holding large portraits of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Rabindranath Tagore. Senior MPs like Saugata Roy and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar accused the Prime Minister of repeatedly mispronouncing or casually addressing Bengal’s freedom fighters and cultural icons – from calling revolutionary Pulin Bihari Das as “Pulin Bikash Das” to referring to Masterda as “Master Surya Sen”.

They claimed these were not simple mistakes but part of a pattern that shows disrespect towards Bengali heritage at repeatative intervals. While BJP leaders dismissed the row as needless drama, the episode has heated up West Bengal’s already charged political atmosphere ahead of assembly elections a few months away. For many ordinary Bengalis watching from home, the debate over “Da” versus “Babu” is more than grammar – it touches deep emotions about identity, respect and recognition of the state’s giants who shaped India’s freedom struggle and literature.