Calling Ramakrishna Swami reflects insensitivity, Mamata reacts to PM’s social media post

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday (February 19, 2026) took a robust exception to the post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi referring Ramakrishna Paramhamsa as ‘Swami’. In a post on the social media platform X the Prime Minister supplied tributes to the religious grasp on his delivery anniversary and addressed him as ‘Swami Ramakrishna’

“Shocked once more! But once more, our Prime Minister aggressively shows his cultural insensitivity to nice figures of Bengal. Right now is the janmatithi of Yugavatara [God’s incarnation in our age] Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsadeva. Whereas attempting to hail the good saint on this event, our PM added an unprecedented and improper prefix to the good saint’s title, “Swami”!,” the Chief Minister posted, highlighting the post by the Prime Minister.

Ramakrishna Paramhansa is just not solely revered but in addition worshipped as an incarnation of God by folks throughout the nation notably in West Bengal and is referred as Thakur (God). The prefix of Swami is often used to refer to Swami Vivekanandaa and different monastic disciples of Ramakrishna in addition to the monks of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission.

The West Bengal Chief Minister highlighted this level and defined on her post that “whereas his ascetic disciples constituted the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission after their Grasp’s demise, and people monks have been then known as “Swami” as per Indian traditions, the Grasp, the Acharya, himself continued to be referred to as Thakur “.

“The prefix “Swami” was meant for his disciples within the Ramakrishna Order; however the holy trinity of the Order remained Thakur–Ma–Swamiji. Thakur is Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsadeva, Ma is Ma Sarada, and Swamiji is Swami Vivekananda,” Ms. Banerjee stated, urging the Prime Minister “not to uncover new prefixes and suffixes for the good Renaissance figures of Bengal who formed trendy India”.

The event comes weeks after the Trinamool Congress management had critricised the Prime Minister for referring to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the author of Vande Mataram as ‘Bankim da’.

Collaborating in a dialogue in Lok Sabha on 150 years of Vande Mataram, Prime Minister on September 11 had referred to the author of the nationwide music Vande Mataram as “Bankim da”. After intervention of TMC MP Sougata Roy, Mr. Modi switched to ‘Bankim Babu’ however the Trinamool Congress has launched a scathing assault. The Trinamool Congress has typically dubbed BJP as a celebration of “outsiders” and the event assumes significance earlier than upcoming meeting polls within the State.

The State’s Chief Minister had demanded an apology from Prime Minister over the problem. Bamkim Chandra Chattopadhyay is taken into account one of many best writers and icons from the State and sometimes referred to as ‘ Rishi Bankim’.

With Meeting polls due within the subsequent few months, the Trinamool Congress is leaving no stone unturned to spotlight any gaffe by the Bharatiya Janata Get together management when it comes to social and spiritual icons of the State. The Trinamool Congress management up to now have been profitable in portray the BJP as a celebration of ‘outsiders’ by amplifying such slips of suffixes or prefixes.

BJP chief and get together’s IT Cell chief Amit Malviya tried to defend the utilization of Swami by saying use of the prefix ‘Swami’ is just not a reference to the title utilized by monks of the Ramakrishna Mission order however ‘Swami’ refers to the Nice Grasp.