Mamata Banerjee's Goddess-like idol in Malda, BJP fumes

In the Puja organized by Jagaran Sangh, the idol of Goddess Durga not only resembles the chief minister, but it also sports white & blue attire as worn by the chief minister in real life. The idol, in two of her ten hands, is carrying Lord Ganesha's idol. The other eight hands are holding placards of the various development projects of the state government.

Kolkata: The organizers of a community Durga puja in West Bengal have announced that this year the face of the Durga idol in their pandal will resemble that of the West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee. The pictures also went viral on social media.

Prior to that, a community Ganesha Puja committee at Harishchandrapur in Malda district in north Bengal had flaunted a Durga idol resembling Mamata Banerjee. The Durga idol there is carrying the idol of Lord Ganesha in her lap. Although the people are excited about this new idea, the development has already evoked political mud-slinging.

In the Puja organized by Jagaran Sangh, the idol of Goddess Durga not only resembles the chief minister, but it also sports white & blue attire as worn by the chief minister in real life. The idol is carrying Lord Ganesha's idol in two of her ten hands. The other eight hands are holding placards of the various development projects of the state government.

The Puja organisers claim that for them the chief minister is like Goddess Durga, because of her ideation about different developmental projects. So their Durga idol resembles that of the chief minister.

Trinamool Congress' state general secretary, Bishwajit Mandal and the party's Malda district president Jammu Rahman were present at the inauguration function of this community Puja on Friday.

The Jagaran Sangh, Bulbul Khan, who is also the party's district general secretary, said that for the first time the community club is organizing Ganesh Puja. "This year our theme is on the different development projects of the state government. One evil force tries to capture Bengal. The chief minister has protected us from that evil force. So the idol resembles the chief minister," he said.

Speaking on this development, BJP's district secretary, Kishan Kedia said that comparing Goddess Durga with the chief minister is not at all a justifiable development.

"People can never approve this for sure. Anyway, the people will act at the right time. The chief minister might be a mother for her party workers. But she cannot be the mother of any Hindu god. I wonder whether the chief minister herself will approve this," he said.