Calcutta High Court, on Wednesday, came down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee government for not allowing Durga Puja immersion on the day of Muharram.
Mamata Banerjee government had said, “to maintain the law and order and communal harmony in the state the government decided to restrict the Durga Puja immersion on the day of Muharram.” Muharram coincides with Durga Puja, on October 1, this year.
The Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court, headed by Justice Rakesh Tiwari, came down heavily on the state government. “Why are you trying to create communal divide in the state?”
When advocate Kishore Dutta told the court that law and order was a state subject and that the state government had all the rights to impose a ban, the judge said, “Does this mean that the state government accepts the fact that there is no communal harmony in the state?”
The BJP and RSS railed against the decision of the state government.
The High Court said it symbolised a complete lack of administrative efficiency.
“Don’t listen to what the police said. Listen to what the chief minister said earlier: Hindu and Muslim communities live peacefully in West Bengal. If that is true, then there is nothing wrong in allowing both festivals,” said the court.
The Calcutta High Court will pronounce its verdict on Thursday.
The BJP had strongly attacked the CM on the issue.
"It is time for the chief minister to understand every nuance of democracy. She should stop all kinds of appeasement. She is pushing the communal divide in the state. The BJP will not let it happen,” said Biswapriya Roy Choudhury, general secretary of the BJP in West Bengal.
The BJP is also planning to take out a Talwar procession on the day of Vijayadashami which Mamata has also banned.
"Hope she would learn from this observation of the court. Whatever she says, we will carry out the march on Vijayadashami. All over India, on this day, we offer puja to our tradional weapons," said Roy Choudhury.
