Following West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s statement that the immersion of Durga idol will be taking place on October 2, 3 and 4, barring October 1 for Muharram, the day of mourning for Muslims, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said that they would oppose the decision.
“The State government is trying to disrupt Durga idol immersion. Last year, there was a similar directive on account of Muharram. This year also, the Chief Minister has done the same,“ Dilip Ghosh, State president of BJP said on Thursday. “This is being done for Muslim appeasement and vote bank politics,” he said.
Mr. Ghosh said that like the previous year some people approach the Court and it will have major repercussions.
Senior State government officials said that the decision was taken in view of two considerations. “There were some problems last year following the overlapping of two religious events — Bijaya Dashami and Muharram — and this year too, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is planning a ‘shastra puja‘ [weapons worship] in the State on October 1,” a senior official said. Organisational secretary of VHP in West Bengal Sachindranath Singha said that VHP will be taking out rally with “traditional weapons” from various parts of the State on October 1, a day after Bijaya Dashmi, and would go to court if the rallies are obstructed.