We want everyone to live in peace, in unity, like brothers and sisters: Mamata

Speaking at a pragramme on the occasion of Chhath Pujo, Banerjee said, “We don’t make distinctions among people of different religions. Be it food, culture or anything – everyone has the right to follow their beliefs.

"What is happening is deplorable. NRC is a detrimental decision. Even if you say that you want to throw out non-Indian Muslims, you have excluded in NRC’s list people from Bihar, Assam. Gurkhas and Bengalis as well are left out,” Banerjee said.

“My phone was also tapped and I have said this many time before. It is a serious breach of security. The PM should look into the matter,” the chief minister said.

Ms Banerjee’s reaction came a day after WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messaging platform, said it had earlier informed Indian authorities about a privacy breach that had targeted several journalists and laywers.

The chief minister said, “Bangla’s urban and semi-urban areas,like Kolkata, are cosmopolitan areas, where we live in peace and respect each other’s festivals, taking part in them wholeheartedly."

“A few days after Diwali comes Jagaddhatri Puja. And in between, we have Chhath Pujo. Festivals are meant to be celebrated by one and all – we don’t  differentiate on that,” she said.

“Festivals take place all through the year. Even a Vigyan Mela is a festival, a film fest is also a festival. They are not just about religion. I go to whichever place Maa (Holy Mother) is worshipped from the heart,” Ms Banerjee said.

“After demonetisation, I came to see how the traders were doing. The economy is in a bad state now. I would pray to Maa Jagaddhatri that everything becomes normal and the situation improves,” she said.