'Shocked again': Mamata jabs Modi over 'Swami' prefix for Ramakrishna
What's the story
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for using the prefix "Swami" before Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsadeva's name while paying tribute to him on his birth anniversary. In a post on X, Banerjee slammed the PM for what she called an "unprecedented and improper prefix" and accused him of being culturally insensitive to Bengal's great figures.
Title clarification
Banerjee explains significance of 'Thakur' and 'Swami'
Banerjee clarified that Sri Ramakrishna was popularly known as Thakur (God) and the prefix "Swami" was reserved for his disciples in the Ramakrishna Order. She wrote, "As is well known, Sri Ramakrishna was widely revered as Thakur (literally, God). While his ascetic disciples constituted the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission after their Master's demise...the Master himself continued to be referred to as Thakur."
Twitter Post
Read the tweet here
Shocked again!
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) February 19, 2026
Yet again, our Prime Minister aggressively displays his cultural insensitivity to great figures of Bengal. Today is the janmatithi of Yugavatara (God's incarnation in our age) Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsadeva. While trying to hail the great saint on this… https://t.co/f7GqFkbcHy
Mamata
Don't discover new prefixes and suffixes: CM
She alleged that while the prefix "Swami" was meant for his disciples in the Ramakrishna Order, 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. I urge the Prime Minister kindly not to discover new prefixes and suffixes for the great Renaissance figures of Bengal who shaped modern India," she wrote.
Tribute backlash
PM Modi pays tribute to Ramakrishna
Earlier on Thursday, PM Modi had paid tribute to Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa on his birth anniversary. "Humble tributes to Swami Ramakrishna Paramahansa," Modi said. This drew criticism from Banerjee and other Trinamool Congress leaders. Kunal Ghosh also weighed in on the matter, saying "the word Thakur is there. In the tradition of Bengal, he is known as Thakur Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa Dev."
Legacy remembered
Know more about Ramakrishna Paramahans
Ramakrishna Paramahansa, born in 1836, was a priest at Kolkata's Dakshineswar Kali Temple and is known for his teachings on religious harmony. His chief disciple Swami Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, which are global spiritual organizations engaged in humanitarian work. In his tribute, PM Modi had said that "the way he established spirituality and meditation as a vital life force will continue to benefit humanity in every era."