TMC doesn't support Goddess Kali's portrayal in 'bad taste': Party leader

Lashing out at the BJP, which sought action against Moitra over her comments, senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said that the saffron camp should stop mixing religion with politics. "The party doesn't endorse the comments made by Mahua Moitra. We also don't support the portrayal of Goddess Kali in bad taste in pictures or posters," he said.

Kolkata:The TMC on Thursday said it doesn't endorse or support Goddess Kali's portrayal in bad taste, be it in pictures, film posters or elsewhere. Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh also said that it was a matter of individual choice how they offer prayers to deities, two days after party MP Mahua Moitra's remarks on Goddess Kali at a conclave sparked a controversy.

Lashing out at the BJP, which sought action against Moitra over her comments, Ghosh said that the saffron camp should stop mixing religion with politics. "The party doesn't endorse the comments made by Mahua Moitra. We also don't support the portrayal of Goddess Kali in bad taste in pictures or posters. At the same time, however, it is the matter of individual choice how they would pray to their god or goddess," Ghosh said.

The Krishnanagar MP had on Tuesday stirred up a hornet's nest by saying that she had every right as an individual to imagine Goddess Kali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting deity, as each person had his or her unique way of offering prayers.

The TMC MP was asked for her response to the latest outrage over a film poster that showed a woman dressed as a Goddess Kali smoking a cigarette and holding a pride flag.

"There are different ways of offering puja to the goddess, as per Hindu rituals. We don't want to comment on it; it is a matter of individual choice. The BJP should stop mixing politics with religion," the TMC state spokesperson added.

Moitra, faced with a barrage of criticisms over her remarks, had said on Wednesday that she, a "worshipper of the deity", was not afraid of saffron camp "goons".

"Bring it on BJP! Am a Kali worshipper. I am not afraid of anything. Not your ignoramuses. Not your goons. Not your police. And most certainly not your trolls. Truth doesn't need backup forces," she wrote. (PTI)