New Delhi: In a rare but embarrassing goof-up, Union home minister Amit Shah garlanded the statue of an Adivasi hunter in Bankura, thinking the idol was of iconic anti-colonial leader Birsa Munda. Shah, who was on a two-day visit to West Bengal even as neighbouring Bihar entered its final round of assembly polls, landed in Kolkata on Wednesday night and flew to Adivasi-dominant Bankura, where the party hopes to significantly gain in the assembly polls early next year.While he made bold statements about public anger against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and state chief minister Mamata Banerjee, and used his lunch at an Adivasi party worker’s residence in Chaturdihi village, Bankura as a political photo opportunity, his faux pas while paying tribute to Munda triggered a political row.Born in 1875, Birsa Munda, who had led a rebellion against the Bengal Presidency, has attained iconic status among Munda community.Given this perception of the leader, the ruling TMC was quick to take a dig at the Union minister. It called Shah “bohiragato (outsider)” after some other Adivasi leaders pointed out that the statue the minister garlanded was not Munda’s but that of an anonymous tribal hunter.On Thursday, after garlanding the statue and showering it with petals, Shah had tweeted, “Paid floral tributes to legendary tribal leader Bhagwan Birsa Munda ji in Bankura, West Bengal today. Birsa Munda ji’s life was dedicated towards the rights and upliftment of our tribal sisters & brothers. His courage, struggles and sacrifices continue to inspire all of us.”Also read: As Cracks in Bengal BJP Widen, High Command Intervenes With Organisational ChangesLater, the BJP came to his rescue and placed Birsa Munda’s portrait at the foot of the statue. However, by then Adivasi organisations like Bharat Jakat Majhi Pargana Mahal, known to be sympathetic with the TMC, had already made a political issue out of the goof-up. It said it was upset about the minister’s action as it was an insult to the freedom fighter.“The statue is that of a tribal hunter. It was installed a few years ago as part of a road beautification programme. It is not a statue of Birsa Munda. We brought this to the notice of Bankura district leaders a day before the event. But instead of taking Shah to one of the statues of Birsa Munda, the party went ahead with the ceremony,” said Sangiri Hembram of Bharat Jakat Majhi Pargana Mahal.BJP officials told the Hindustan Times that Shah was driven to a huge statue of a tribal man at Puwabagan, about 10 km away from Bankura town and admitted that it was an error on the part of the district unit.Vivekananda Patra, president of the BJP’s Bankura district unit, said an error was made while attempting to spot a statue of Birsa Munda around Bankura town where Shah held a closed-door meeting with leaders from 13 districts.“The moment we came to know of the mistake, we bought a printed image of the tribal leader. Shah did not garland the statue. He placed flowers before the framed image,” said Patra.Also read: BJP and the Art of Selling Hindutva Nationalism to BengalHowever, the Trinamool Congress raised the temperature by attacking Shah as an “outsider”. “‘Bohiragato’ are at it again! Union Home Minister @AmitShah is so ignorant of Bengal’s culture that he insulted Bhagwan Birsa Munda by garlanding a wrong idol & placed his photo at someone else’s foot. Will he ever respect Bengal,” the party tweeted.TMC Rajya Sabha member and party spokesperson Derek O’Brien took a quick dig at Shah over the incident. “You may be an expert on the Gujarat Gymkhana. But not Bengal,” he tweeted.The party later carried out a symbolic purification programme at the site of the statue on Friday afternoon.The TMC has been attempting to attack a fledgling BJP in the state specifically on the grounds that it lacks local, autonomous leaders and is solely guided by “outsiders” who do not place the issues of Bengal in their list of top priorities.Interestingly, Shah, whose focus clearly is on the upcoming Bengal polls, was conspicuous by his absence in Bihar, which saw a large section of senior BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath, campaigning for his party. Shah is said to have given full powers to his close aide and Rajya Sabha MP Bhupendra Yadav to oversee the party’s Bihar campaign. Yet, his presence in Bengal while the Bihar elections came to a close stood out.