M Gandhi shown as a demon in the Durga Puja Mandap in Kolkata

(Image credit : The Hindu)

Kolkata (WB) – In the Durga Puja Mandap of the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha in Kolkata, a statue resembling Mohandas Gandhi shown as a demon has been placed and Shri Durgadevi is shown killing him. All parties including the ruling Trinamool Congress, BJP, CPI(M) and Congress criticised this. The statue is made to look exactly like Gandhi wearing a dhoti and holding a stick in his hand. Organisers have explained that the resemblance between this statue and Mahatma Gandhi is a coincidence.

Explaining this, Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha Bengal Executive President Chandrachur Goswami said that every bald and bespectacled person need not be Gandhi. The demon in this scene has a shield. Gandhi never had a shield. The resemblance of the demon killed by Shri Durgadevi to Gandhi in our show is purely coincidental.

(Credit : India Today)

Criticism by political parties

1. Trinamool Congress State general secretary Kunal Ghosh said that this is a real face of BJP. Gandhi is the father of the country. Gandhi and his ideology are admired by the world. Such insults to Gandhi could not be tolerated. We strongly condemn this.

2. CPI(M) Central Committee member Samik Lahiri said that the BJP and the RSS only know how to divide India. They consider the anti-British forces as ‘asuras’, while Shri Durga Mata as the British.

3. Congress spokesperson Mr Soumya Roy said that Rabindranath Tagore called Gandhi as ‘Mahatma’. Insulting such a great person is shameful not only for India, but for the world.

4. BJP spokesperson Sameek Bhattacharya while clarifying BJP’s side said that we do not support such things. This is totally unacceptable. The administration should take immediate action against the organisers.