Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday greeted people on Diwali and urged people to uphold unity and communal harmony across the country.
“Wishing everyone a very Happy Diwali! May the light of diyas and the spirit of this festival bring happiness, peace, and prosperity to all, and inspire unity and harmony in our communities,” Banerjee said in a social media post on Monday morning.
Like every year, she performed Kali Puja at her Kalighat residence, a tradition she has followed for a long time. Banerjee cooked ‘bhog’ and took part in rituals, clad in a cotton saree. Her party’s national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, attended the puja and participated in a ‘yagna’. Party leaders, MPs, MLAs, ministers, bureaucrats, industrialists, and artistes attended the puja.
Bengal sparkled with joy and lights as Kali Puja and Diwali festivities swept across the state on Monday.
Keeping her family’s tradition, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hosted her household’s Kali Puja. This revered tradition was started in 1978 by her late mother, Gayatri Devi, and has since become a heartfelt part of Banerjee’s annual celebrations. Banerjee, every year, personally prepares the ‘bhog’, a special offering, for Goddess Kali, honouring both her family legacy and the spirit of the festival.
Greeting people on the occasion of Kali Puja and Deepavali, Banerjee posted on X: “O Mother, Goddess of light, erase darkness and usher in peace.” She also shared a song penned and composed by her and sung by renowned Bengali singer Sreeradha Bandopadhyay to mark the occasion.