West Bengal is not Bangladesh, says Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal is not the same as Bangladesh, says Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of the Indian state.

She also accused "political opportunists" of trying to take advantage of the situation developing out of the RG Kar rape-murder and seeking to replicate the Bangladeshi unrest to tarnish the state's image, Times of India reported on Monday.

Mamata expressed her concern at the impact on people's livelihoods ahead of West Bengal's biggest festival season, and urged people to "return to festivities".

"The livelihood of many people, from dhakis [drummers] to idol makers and craftsmen, hawkers and small traders, and their entire year's earnings depend largely on the Durga Puja," she said.

"Bengal's reputation is being tarnished. WhatsApp groups have been created. People who have studied and grown up here are now spreading misinformation about Bengal after moving away. They are defaming Bengal based on one-sided information,” she said.

“They are not hearing both sides. Are you taking advantage of the situation after [what happened in] Bangladesh? But remember that India is [a] separate [country and] Bangladesh is a separate country. We respect Bangladesh, we respect its language. But this place will not become Bangladesh," Banerjee told the media at the State Secretariat Nabanna, following the government’s first administrative review meeting in the backdrop of the RG Kar case.