Governor to attend 'Kali Puja' at Mamata's place

Kolkata: Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and his wife will attend the Kali Puja at the residence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday.

Earlier, the Governor wrote a letter to the Chief Minister on October 21 expressing his desire to see her at her residence on the day of "Bhatridwitiya" scheduled to be held on October 29.

In response to the letter, Banerjee invited him and his wife to attend the Kali Puja at her residence on Sunday.

While inaugurating a Kali Puja marquee at a club in Barasat, the Governor maintained that he was more than happy to have got the invitation for the puja, held every year at the Chief Minister's Kalighat residence since 1978.

"I had written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that I and my wife wanted to be at her residence on the occasion of 'Bhai Dooj'. The Chief Minister, after coming back from her North Bengal tour, wrote back inviting me and the First Lady to be a part of Kali Puja at her residence. We are very happy to get her invitation and are eagerly waiting to attend the Puja," he added.

Banerjee has been observing the Kali Puja at her residence since 1978. She decorates the idol herself with flowers and observes fast throughout the day. She breaks her fast after offering "Pushpanjali" which is held well past midnight.

The idol of Shyamakali is worshipped at her residence. Top bureaucrats and police officers in the state government are invited along with several businessmen and journalists. Most of the Cabinet ministers attend the puja. The guests are looked after by Firhad Hakim and Indranil Sen.

The inmates of Nav Neer, an old-age home in Chetla, attend the Kali Puja every year.