Khela hobe, Mamata Banerjee’s catchy election slogan, is fast catching up. From billboards to Parliament and Bollywood, the two-word slogan is going viral. On Thursday, Lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar, after meeting the Trinamool chief in Delhi, said that it was beyond doubt that “khela hobe will resonate across India.”
Asked to comment on the now-viral slogan of Khela Hobe (game is on), Akhtar said that the slogan did not need any endorsement anymore. “It is beyond any discussion now,” he said, reports PTI. The West Bengal Chief Minister, who was looking on as Akhtar spoke, quipped, “Khela hobe se aapko ek gaan banana hai (you have to compose a song on khela hobe).”
Javed Akhtar and actor Shabana Azmi met Banerjee, ostensibly to thank her for supporting a bill that assures royalty for artistes. The couple spoke about a need for ‘parivartan’ (change), saying Bengal has always led “revolutionary movements”.
Also read: From Khela Hobe to Khela Shesh: What is the meaning of Khela?
Asked whether there was a need for change, Javed Akhtar said, “I can’t say for everyone but personally, I feel there should be ‘parivartan’. There are many tensions in the country right now, there is the issue of polarisation, many give aggressive statements… there are incidents of violence. It’s a shame that Delhi witnessed communal riots. These things should not happen.”
Mamata Banerjee is flying back to Kolkata of Friday after a 5-day visit to the Capital. She met leaders of all major political parties, including the Congress, AAP, DMK and NCP. After her impressive win over the BJP in Assembly election, Banerjee is emerging as the rallying point of the Opposition, more so after the Pegasus spying row.
Banerjee is the only chief minister to order a probe into the snooping allegations. A consortium of international media websites have reported that over 300 verified mobile phone numbers, including of two ministers, over 40 journalists, three opposition leaders and one sitting judge apart from many businesspersons and activists in India could have been hacked through the spyware.
According to reports, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, a nephew of Mamata Banerjee, and poll strategist Prashant Kishor were among the potential targets of the spyware. Even union ministers, according to allegations, were under watch.