Gurap (Hooghly): Controversy erupted here after a Durga idol was seen holding a Trinamool Congress party flag on Friday in West Bengal's Hooghly district's outskirts. Party's local unit member justified it as a gesture of the locals reciprocating the monetary assistance provided by the government for the Puja Committees.
Lakshman Mondal, local Panchayat member, said Mamata Banerjee-led government had given Rs 60,000 to all public Puja Committees in the state. Due to that money, the common people of the village were able to organise Durga Puja. "Therefore, out of gratitude to the government, the idol has been decked with the flag of the ruling party," Mondal said.
Also, several overenthusiastic TMC workers had pulled off a similar stunt in many Pandals in the district. When ETV Bharat approached the local residents , they preferred not go on record on as to why they had allowed this. The residents expressed their displeasure over the development across Gurap. However, this had not deterred the local TMC leaders and workers.
BJP president of Hooghly's Srirampur organisational district, Tushar Majumdar strongly condemned the incident. According to him, the culture of Bengal is being destroyed by the Trinamool regime. "This year Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has inaugurated several public Durga Pujas before Mahalaya," he said.
Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari had also condemned the Gurap incident. He warned that this behaviour of the ruling party disregarding the tradition and culture of Bengal will never be accepted. Meanwhile, Dhaniakhali MLA and Hooghly District Trinamool Congress chairperson Asima Patra, when contacted, feigned ignorance about the incidents.
