Picture : ANI/X
Recalling the role of non-Bengali communities during the 1946 communal riots in Kolkata, Bharatiya Janata Party’s West Bengal unit president Samik Bhattacharya has appealed to people to remain united to ensure that the city retained an atmosphere conducive to celebrating Durga Puja.
Speaking at the ‘khunti puja’ (pole worship ritual marking the official start of Durga Puja preparations) ceremony organised by Shatadal Sangha in central Kolkata’s Bowbazar area on Sunday, Bhattacharya said communities such as the Guptas and the Jaiswals had stood by the Bengalis during the riots and “saved them from extinction”.
His comments drew criticism from the opposition parties, with the Congress claiming that the BJP leader’s remarks were driven by electoral politics and the Trinamool Congress accusing him of “insulting” Bengalis.
“Standing in north Kolkata, one thing must be said: If the Guptas and the Jaiswals had not been here, if they had not exhausted their entire wealth to provide the iron needed to make swords, the gentlefolk and aristocratic Bengalis of north Kolkata that we see today would not have existed,” the state party chief said.
Bhattacharya, flanked by state Industries Minister Tapas Roy and Tamaghna Ghosh, the BJP president of north Kolkata, said the communities had stood by Bengalis and remained united during the difficult period.
“To understand Kolkata, one must come here (to North Kolkata),” Bhattacharya, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP, said.
He also alleged that Durga Puja celebrations will henceforth be free of restrictions and will be held peacefully, alleging that Durga Puja had “virtually faced a severe crisis” in several parts of Bengal bordering Bangladesh over the past few years under the previous government.
The BJP leader referred to the recent deaths of Murshidabad father-son duo idol makers â Hargobinda Das and Chandan Das â who were allegedly “hacked to death for crime of possessing the talent to sculpt idols of Kali, Saraswati and Lakshmi”.
Responding sharply to Bhattacharya’s comments on non-Bengali community support, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh accused the BJP leader of “insulting” Bengalis.
“Bengalis have their own tradition and a history of the freedom struggle. They are distinguished by their own identity and individuality. I did not expect a comment that Bengalis would not have survived if the Guptas and the Jaiswals had not stood by them,” Ghosh said.
With the civic polls approaching, the Congress alleged that BJP leaders were trying to attract votes by “cleverly” invoking division.
“The BJP is deliberately trying to break and fragment Bengali heritage. Rabindranath Tagore himself had taken to the streets to prevent the partition of Bengal. Before the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections, they are trying to sow the seeds of division. I do not know on the basis of which documents these statements are being made. But such remarks will damage Kolkata’s heritage,” Bengal Pradesh Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar said.
