PM Modi’s Durga Puja address: ‘People of Bengal have made India proud’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the people of West Bengal virtually (Source: Twitter)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata via video conferencing today as the five-day celebrations begin in West Bengal amid the pandemic. During the address, the prime minister paid tribute to the icons of Bengal and said that the state has always made the country proud.

“Whenever the need was felt in India’s history, Bengal has always led the way for India and shown the path. If I continue to take names of such Bengalis, we will come to the end of the day, but the names shall continue,” he said recounting a few names of the freedom fighters from the state.

Extending his wishes, PM Modi requested people to maintain social distancing. “Bengal’s Pujo gives India a new colour. We are celebrating Durga Puja in times of COVID-19, all devotees have shown exemplary restrain. The number of people might be less but the grandeur and devotion are the same. The happiness and joy are still boundless. This is the real Bengal. There is such power in the devotion there, that it seems that I am not in Delhi but today I am present among you all in Bengal,” Modi said.

On Wednesday, PM Modi wished people via Twitter in Bengali. He described Durga Puja as an auspicious festival that signifies the triumph of good over evil, and in a subsequent tweet wrote that he would wish “brothers and sisters” today. “Durga Puja is an auspicious occasion, which celebrates the victory of good over evil. We pray to Maa Durga to bless us with strength, happiness, and good health,” he tweeted.

Babul Supriyo singing at the event

The address, which comes ahead of Bihar polls, was live-streamed in all the 294 Assembly constituencies of the state.

West Bengal is scheduled to hold the Assembly polls in the first half of the next year. The BJP has emerged as the main challenger to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and has been exuding confidence that it will end Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s 10-year-old reign in the state. The saffron party had won 18 seats in West Bengal against the TMC’s 22 in last year’s Lok Sabha polls and trailed the ruling party in terms of vote share by only three per cent. PTI KR RC

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