(Source: ECI | ABP NEWS)
Is Dilip Ghosh Mulling Switch To TMC? BJP Leader Responds, Defends Digha Temple Visit With Mamata
Dilip Ghosh clarified his visit to Digha’s Jagannath temple amid disagreement over it within his party after he met CM Mamata Banerjee there.
Amid rising speculation over a potential defection, BJP leader and former West Bengal party president Dilip Ghosh on Thursday dismissed rumours about joining the Trinamool Congress (TMC) after attending the inauguration of the newly constructed Jagannath temple in Digha. Ghosh visited the temple on Wednesday, accompanied by his newly married wife, Rinku Majumdar. The temple, which imitates the iconic Puri Jagannath shrine, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. During the visit, Ghosh also met Mamata Banerjee.
“I was invited officially. That’s why I came. I have the guts to do what I believe is right,” Ghosh told the media at the Digha sea beach earlier in the day, as per news agency PTI. “Why should visiting a temple become a controversy? Lakhs visit the Ram temple in Ayodhya or the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Does it matter who built them? People go there because it’s a place of worship,” he added, addressing the rumours.
He further said, “Why should I join TMC? I’m not having a bad time. I haven’t changed in 10 years. I don’t change sides like others do during elections. Dilip Ghosh doesn’t need to do that.”
The visit drew criticism from his own party. Sharing a photo of Ghosh with Mamata Banerjee, senior BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta posted on X, “The outrage among grassroots BJP Bengal workers at this apparent betrayal by a former state president is too deafening for the national leadership to ignore.”
State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar distanced the party from the visit, saying, “It was Dilip Ghosh’s personal choice. The party doesn’t endorse it. Many of our MLAs were invited but chose not to attend, considering the atrocities against Hindus in the state.”
Ghosh shrugged off the criticism, saying, “People keep talking about Dilip Ghosh. Even if they speak negatively, it works like an advertisement for me.”
The BJP leader also clarified his absence from an event organised by Suvendu Adhikari in Kanthi, stating, “I wasn’t invited there. I was invited to Digha and Shyampur, so I went there. I don’t attend every event. I go where I’m invited.”
“Akshaya Tritiya is an auspicious occasion. If I’m invited to a religious event on such a day, why should I not attend? Who inaugurated the temple doesn’t matter — what matters is devotion to God,” he further added.
Notably, a few days before the temple event, CM Banerjee and TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee had extended congratulatory messages to Ghosh on his marriage, with the Chief Minister even sending a bouquet. However, Ghosh has denied all claims of switching parties.
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