TMC's 'outsider' barb for Himanta Biswa Sarma over 'Durgotsav'
Times of India | 22 May 2024
KOLKATA: Trinamool on Tuesday seized on a speech by the Assam CM in Kolkata - where he slammed TMC for encouraging people to "celebrate Durgotsav" instead of "observing Durga Puja" - and called BJP a party of "outsiders" in the state.
Himanta Biswa Sarma has been campaigning extensively in Bengal after the elections in Assam. He held rallies at Bishnupur, Jadavpur and Taratala (Kolkata south) on Monday and was at Mathurapur on Tuesday.
Following his attacks on CM Mamata Banerjee over "Muslim appeasement" in Sandeshkhali, Sarma targeted Durga Puja at a rally in Jadavpur on Monday, objecting to it being called 'Durgotsav'.He claimed that a 'puja' could never be a festival.
"Worshipping and festivals are not the same. It had started from Bengal and now Mamata didi wants to turn Durga Puja into Durga festival in Assam as well," he said.
CM Banerjee has said time and again that "religion is personal, but festivals are for everyone".
In response to Sarma, TMC's Rajya Sabha MP and Silchar resident Sushmita Dev posted on X: "Ignorance is bliss... With zero understanding of Bengali culture one should not jump into campaigns. Also first the Assam CM should answer why Durga puja committees in upper Assam can't even write in bangla language on their signage."
AITC spokesperson Riju Datta wrote: "I don't think there is a language that can adequately sum up the cultural ignorance of these Bangla-Birodhis. But in every language, in every culture, when Ma, Devi, returns to her early abode and graces us, it's a celebration - an utsav. So, we'd highly appreciate it if these Bohiragotos kept their narrow-minded opinions to themselves."
Trinamool Congress's Tamluk candidate Debangshu Bhattacharya too slammed the Assam CM, saying: "Time and again, members of Narendra Modi's 'parivaar' have maligned Bengal's culture, denigrated our tradition and defamed our revered icons. Now, Biswa Sarma has made a scathing attack on our faith by questioning the legacy of Durga Puja. These Bangla-Birodhi Bohiragotos have no place in our diverse and inclusive Bengal!"
BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said the Assam CM's comments reflected the party's views. "The Left Front had renamed Durga Puja 'Sarod Utsav'. Trinamool further renamed it 'Durgotsav' and added foreign elements like carnival and other stuff, taking the real essence out of the puja," he said.