Kolkata: On Friday (July 29), a Durga Mandir in Kaliachak town, Malda district, West Bengal, became a topic of heated debate as it was found barricaded and blocked a day before the Islamic month of Muharram. A tweet by BJP Bengal karyakarta Amit Thakur added fuel to the fire, stating, "This Shocking Image Is From Kaliachak, Malda West Bengal, Where Durga Mandir was blocked for Muharram procession. This is the condition of Hindus in West Bengal. Why no seculars of I.N.D.I.A talking about it."
The tweet included a picture of the Hindu temple named 'Kaliachak Thana Sharbajanin Durga Mandir,' with its entrance obstructed by bamboo fences.BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya accused the West Bengal police of acting on behalf of the Mamata Banerjee government, tweeting, "West Bengal police blocks and barricades Durga Mandir in Kaliachak on the eve of Muharram." Amit Malviya further added, "This is Mamata Banerjee's brand of secularism, which demeans and denigrates Hindus, reducing them to second-grade citizens under her administration." "It also shows her inability to handle law and order. Such a partisan approach of the Chief Minister shreds social cohesiveness and widens fault lines. Her politics thrives on it," he emphasized.
West Bengal BJP MLA (Nandigram) Suvendu Adhikari strongly criticized the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, stating, "I bet no Muharram Organizing Committee of that area could have demanded such a step which would offend the Sanatanis. This is purely 'Hyperactiveness' of the WBPolice. In Mamata Banerjee’s dictionary, 'Secularism' is synonymous with 'Vote Bank Politics.'"
"That’s why her administration suffers from 'hyperactivity disorder' during religious festivals, and they generally end up doing something which tends to hurt the sentiments of the Sanatanis," he pointed out. While urging the Chief Secretary's immediate intervention, Suvendu Adhikari said, "Mamata Banerjee has been willfully building barricades and driving wedges among the two communities for petty political gains. She is trying to create discord and sabotage the harmony among the two communities."
He later informed that the barricades were removed from outside the Durga Mandir in Kaliachak town of Malda. Meanwhile, several social media users have claimed that the barricades were put up by members of the Hindu community, anticipating a law and order situation during Muharram. It must be mentioned that Mamata Banerjee imposed restrictions on the immersion of Durga idol in 2016 and 2017 to make way for Muharram processions.
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