Md Ali Park's asura doctor sparks off controversy

Kolkata: Mohammad Ali Park Durga Puja committee has triggered a controversy with their depiction of doctors as asura at their puja pandal.

The ashura at this puja pandal is wearing apron used by the doctors. The puja organisers backtracked and covered the idol and they were trying to change the model of the doctor shown as ashura following tremendous protests from the doctors' fraternity and different doctors' organisations.

The puja organisers, however, claimed that they wanted to showcase the fake doctors against whom the state government had taken a drive. It is not, however, clear if the puja organisers wanted to depict the fake doctors as the asura.

Different doctors' organisations have threatened to take steps against the puja organisers if they do not remove the model where a doctor has been depicted as an asura considered to be an evil force. Besides this, they also called for a boycott of this puja that had allegedly maligned doctors. Some doctors from the city will also submitted a deputation to the commissioner of police in this regard.

Dr Nirmal Maji, the president of the state medical council, also strongly condemned the incident and said that this would hamper the relation between doctors and patients. It would also send a wrong message to the people, Maji said. He also said that he talked to the police commissioner in this regard.

Dinesh Bajaj, one of the organisers of the committee said that they did not try to show doctors as asuras and they have respect for the doctors who save lives of many. The committee tried to showcase the fake doctors as asuras as they are causing harm to society. Bajaj also said that following Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's initiatives, the state government had taken up a massive drive against fake doctors who had been practicing across the state without any valid license.

The initiative has saved many lives. They only tried to depict fake doctors through a model as if to show that Goddess Durga will destroy the evil force, Bajaj maintained. He said that they had highest respect for doctors.

The doctors' organisations were, however, reluctant to this theory as they said that if their claim is true, then why they had put an apron on the model. Following protests from various quarters, the puja organisers covered the idol.