Cite one instance of Durga Puja being stopped in Bengal: TMC challenges Yogi

Kolkata: Denouncing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's comments that people in Bengal were prevented from doing Durga Puja — the state's one of the biggest festivals — senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Subrata Mukherjee challenged Adityanath to cite one instance where it has been stopped.

As many as 34,748 and 2,509 Durga Pujas get organised in the areas under the jurisdiction of West Bengal Police and Kolkata Police respectively. At the same time 1,706 Pujas get organised by women-run committees.

The TMC veteran, who patronises the Durga Puja of Ekdalia Evergreen Club in Gariahat considered being one of the big-ticket Pujas held in the city, said: "Let him give a single instance when Durga Puja had been stopped in Bengal."

Earlier in the day, Adityanath said at a rally held in Malda: "Durga Puja gets prohibited in Bengal today, cow slaughter is forcefully started during Eid. People's sentiments are being hurt through cow smuggling but the state government remains silent. Now, it has attempted to ban the slogan 'Jai Shri Ram' and attacks are being executed."

A number of Trinamool leaders hit out at the UP Chief Minister and raised questions over the law and order situation prevailing in his state.

"Look at @myogiadityanath campaigning for polls in Bengal while the safety of women is severely compromised in his own state! BJP has time & again failed the women of India & this Hathras incident is yet another example of it," Shashi Panja, the Bengal Minister of State for Women and Child Development, tweeted.

Party MP of Basirhat, Nusrat Jahan tweeted: "SHOCKING! Cannot find the words to describe the horror that @BJP4India ruled Uttar Pradesh has turned into! WHY couldn't @myogiadityanath prioritize the safety & security of this family? Is Bengal elections more important to BJP?"

Referring to the incident at Hathras in Uttar Pradesh where a man whose daughter was sexually harassed was allegedly shot dead by the accused out on bail since 2018, TMC secretary-general Partha Chatterjee tweeted stating that Adityanath should watch out for the law and order situation in his own state before coming for the Bengal election campaign.

"Frightening state of affairs in @BJP4India-ruled UP! Please listen to the grieving daughter to find how @myogiadityanath has effectively failed to keep law and order in check under his rule. #BJPHataoBetiBachao," tweeted TMC leader Soham Chakraborty referring to the same Hathras incident that Chatterjee being referred to.

Adityanath on Tuesday targeted the Bengal government over cow smuggling and "love jihad" and said the state government failed to resolve these issues due to "appeasement politics".

He promised that cow smuggling will be stopped within a day if the saffron party is voted to power. "If the BJP is voted to power in West Bengal, we will stop cow smuggling within 24 hours," he said.