‘Gandhi’ As Asura At Hindu Mahasabha Durga Puja Pandal In Kolkata: Idol Modified After Outrage
The pandal is in Kolkata’s Kasba area where the Hindu Mahasabha is organising a Durga Puja for the first time. Complaint registered against the organisation.
On a day the country was remembering the father of the nation on his birth anniversary (October 2), a Durga Puja pandal in the Kasba locality of southwest Kolkata depicting 'Mahisasura’ (Buffalo demon) as a crudely crafted Mahatma Gandhi-lookalike came to light. The idol wore a bald look with spectacles, and carried a walking stick.
This is the first time that the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha organised a Durga Puja in Kasba, ABP Ananda reported.
Standing in front of the idol, Sundergiri Maharaj, Hindu Mahasabha state president, told ABP Ananda: “Gandhi was not Mahatma is any way…we Hindus are more philosophic than religious… I believe if the idol looked like Gandhi, it is justified."
After outrage, the asura idol was modified by adding hair and moustache, and the spectacles were removed.
“l got some anonymous calls, with instructions that the idol must be modified immediately. The puja at the pandal could be stopped otherwise. We were forced to modify the idol due to pressure from the top,” Chandrachud Goswami, working president of the West Bengal unit of All India Hindu Mahasabha, told ABP Ananda.
Goswami had earlier told The Indian Express: "He (Gandhi) needs to be criticised for his role in the national freedom movement...We do not fear to criticise Gandhi...He does not derive respect. We want to send a clear message to all that we want Gandhi-mukt Bharatvarsh."
ANI reported on Monday that a complaint has been filed against the All India Hindu Mahasabha for showcasing an idol resembling Gandhi in place of Asura that is killed by Goddess Durga.
Kolkata, WB | Complaint has been filed against All India Hindu Mahasabha whose pandal had showcased an idol resembling Mahatma Gandhi instead of Asura that is killed by Goddess Durga.
— ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2022
The idol was earlier today remade, to look like an Asura again. pic.twitter.com/efVEK6fXq4
'Should Be Booked Under Sedition'
The move to present Gandhi as the asura being killed by Durga, meanwhile, drew criticism from all quarters.
Slamming the depiction, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told ABP Ananda: "Those who organised the Puja should be booked under sedition."
The state BJP too was critical of such a representation of Mahatma Gandhi.
“We are condemning this incident. Mahatma Gandhi was one of the greatest sons of Mother India. He should not have been projected like this,” said West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar, while speaking to ABP.
Ruling Trinamool Congress' West Bengal general secretary Kunal Ghosh said: "Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy and ideologies can be debated by historians, but he is considered the Father of the Nation. Questioning his role and insulting him like this is a matter of national shame. It's unbelievable that they put Mahatma Gandhi's face in place of Mahishasura."
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