Hindus barred from Ganga Aarti in Bengal

This is not for the first time Mamata Banerjee has tried to humiliate the Hindus to appease the Muslim voters. There are many instances in the past which show her Hinduphobia.

Kolkata, Jan 11: Just to appease a particular community, must you muzzle the basic religious rights of another? The Chief Minister of West Bengal thinks so. Why else would she bar the Hindus from performing a sacred ritual like Ganga Aarti without any valid reason? Mamata Banerjee's vote-bank politics is certainly taking the State to the dogs.

As usual, the Hindus had sought permission from Kolkata Police to conduct the traditional Ganga Aarti at Babughat on Hoogly river here on Tuesday on the occasion of Gangasagar Mela starting this week in West Bengal. However, hellbent on appeasing the minority community, Mamata's officials denied the permission on flimsy grounds like traffic congestion etc.

Incensed over the denial of their basic right to uphold their long standing traditions, a large number of Hindus, led by BJP State president Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, turned up at Babughat to perform Ganga Arti. Even as a posse of policemen evicted most of the Hindus from the venue, Majumdar managed to conduct the ritual at a nearby ghat in the evening amid police repression. The cops later took him too into custody.

After denial of permission, Majumdar had in a tweet asked: "Why this hate for Hindus, CM@MamataOfficial?". When local municipal councillor Sajal Ghosh had gone to the venue for overseeing the arrangements, he too was evicted from the site forcibly in the morning. Later, a group of women devotees visited the ghat and completed the preparations.

BJP's national vice president Dilip Ghosh, in a tweet pointed out that the Chief Minister on the stage at G20 had said that we need to develop together. "But in reality, we see that in Paschim Banga, even Ganga Aarti is being stopped," Ghosh said, questioning why the State government is "repeatedly obstructing our cultural and religious activities." He described it as 'intolerance' on the part of the ruling dispensation.

The incident has created widespread resentment among the Hindus in the State. This is not for the first time CM Banerjee has tried to humiliate the Hindus to appease the Muslim voters. In September last year, the TMC supremo had tried to spoil the sanctity of the Durga Puja by starting it before the day of 'Mahalaya' which is considered as inauspicious by the Hindu.

Earlier also, Banerjee's fury was to be seen to be believed when she was greeted with the chant of 'Jai Sri Ram' at a rally in April 2021. Later, a news agency had quoted her saying that she hated the word "Ram". Three years ago, she had even tried to ban Durga Puja but the High Court had intervened and granted the Hindus permission to go ahead with the quintessential celebration of victory of good over evil.

Banerjee's 'Hinduphobia' can be gauged also from the fact that there is a huge disparity between the amount of honorarium paid to the Muslim clerics and the Hindu priests. While a Muslim cleric gets Rs 2,500 per month, it is as low as Rs 1,000 for a Hindu priest. Not to mention the perks and privileges enjoyed by hate preacher Imam Noor-ur-Rehman Barkatti. When he was arrested by Central agencies over his hate speeches, the TMC government in the State had provided him a beacon vehicle and security.

The law and order situation has slipped to such a low in the State that the Union Home Ministry had to upgrade the security level for Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, citing internal security reports. What to say about the common man on the street!