Kolkata: Divisions came to the fore in the committee of a Durga Puja here Sunday over inviting Union Home Minister Amit Shah to inaugurate it October 1.
The row erupted after a section of the members of the BJ Block Durga Puja in Salt Lake in the eastern fringes of the city claimed they were not consulted before inviting Amit Shah.
BJ Block committee president Umashankar Ghosh Dastidar told reporters Sunday that Shah has given his consent to unveil the idol at 7.00pm on the fixed date.
“Since the puja committee is inviting a Union Minister for the first time, certain issues could not be discussed with all the members and people in the locality due to security reasons,” Ghosh Dastidar said.
However, another committee person, who claimed to represent the dissident members, said they did not want to give a ‘political colour’ to the puja.
“We have nothing against Amit Shah. He is the Home Minister of our country. We are proud of India and some of the decisions taken in recent times to protect our nation. However, he is also a top leader of the BJP. We don’t want the over three-decade-old BJ Block puja to be coloured by politics, by inviting someone who has no connection with the locality, the member said.
The committee member claimed this was the sentiment of a large number of people in the neighbourhood.
However, Ghosh Dastidar said that apart from Shah, Bidhananagar Municipal Corporation Mayor Krishna Chakraborty and West Bengal Minister Sujit Bose have also been invited to the inauguration. He said on many previous occasions, several West Bengal ministers and then Governor KN Tripathi had inaugurated the puja.
BJP state general secretary Sayantan Basu said Shah will inaugurate October 1 the BJ Block puja. “It has been shortlisted for inauguration by Amit Shah among five pujas of the city,” Basu informed.
It should be appropriate to mention here that Basu himself has not been far from controversy in association with Durga Puja in the city. He had become the president of the committee of a well-known Durga Puja in south Kolkata and had proposed to invite Amit Shah to inaugurate it.
However, soon after the proposal, the committee was dissolved in early August and Basu removed from it. A new committee was formed with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s brother Kartik Banerjee at its helm.
The committee had then dropped the plan to invite Amit Shah for the inauguration of the Durga Puja.
PTI