BJP, TMC exchange barbs ahead of Shah's puja inauguration

With Union Home Minister Amit Shah slated to inaugurate a community Durga Puja in West Bengal for the first time on Tuesday, a war of words broke out between the BJP and the TMC, with both the parties accusing each other of politicising the biggest festival of the state.

Shah, the BJP national president, is scheduled to inaugurate the B J Block community Durga Puja at Salt Lake area in the eastern fringes of the city.

Since the announcement of Amit Shah's inauguration, the TMC leadership has accused the BJP of trying to politicise the festival.

The saffron party retorted to it saying that the TMC has "hijacked" all the big-ticket Durga Pujas in the city since it came to power in the state in 2011.

TMC secretary-general and state minister Partha Chatterjee said Amit Shah could have inaugurated a Durga Puja at Delhi's Chittaranjan Park instead of travelling to Kolkata for it.

Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim, on the other hand, said what has led to Amit Shah inaugurating a Durga Puja in the city all of a sudden can best be answered by the BJP leadership.

"It is for him (Shah) to decide where he should go. But, I would say that people of Bengal don't like the politicisation of Durga Puja as the festival is an integral part of the Bengali culture," Hakim said.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh retorted saying it was the TMC that politicised the festival, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurating Durga Pujas across the city.

He also accused the TMC of "forcibly taking over hundreds of Durga Puja committees".

"When Mamata Banerjee inaugurates Durga Pujas, is that not politicisation of the festival? When TMC leaders forcibly take over Durga Puja committees is it not politicisation?