Reacting to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) withdrawal of illogical restrictions imposed on Durga Puja, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya in an exclusive statement to OpIndia mentioned that his government will protect the interest of Hindus.
“With a BJP government in the state, the interests of Hindus will be given primacy and they will be protected,” the President of BJP Yuva Morcha said.
Following a hard-hitting letter by the BJP MP and public outrage, BBMP Commissioner Gaurav Gupta on Thursday withdrew the order with immediate effect.
Arbitrary restrictions by BBMP
At the pretext of curbing the spread of Covid-19, BBMP on Wednesday had announced that the height of Durga idols should not exceed 4 feet and had even imposed a ban on the use of drums for the festival among other guidelines. The BBMP in its guidelines also mentioned ‘sanitizing’ the idols before installation which received a strong objection from devotees.
Karnataka | Idol size shall not exceed more than 4 feet; 1 idol should be installed per ward with permission of respective Jt Commissioner of zone. Asscn shall not allow more than 50 people at a time during prayers: Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Pallike guidelines for Durga Puja pic.twitter.com/Yt8xFjb2yc
— ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2021
Calling the restrictions colonial in nature and biased towards the Hindu community, the BJP leader had urged the BBMP commissioner to revisit the guidelines.
I spoke to @BBMPCOMM & asked him to revisit Durga Pooja rules which are discriminatory, arbitrary & illogical.
— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) October 6, 2021
He assured me that these rules will be reviewed forthwith & sentiments of devotees will be given utmost importance.
Let’s celebrate with all fervour!#ShubhoMahalaya https://t.co/cLkqI9yxz1 pic.twitter.com/9Ypxy1w2aR
Elaborating on the issue, Surya in his statement to OpIndia pointed out, “I don’t understand the logic behind restricting the idol size to 4 feet. The same kind of restrictions was put during the Ganesha Festival. It also laid down that only basic prayers must be offered. This time, they had said Dhol or Dhak must not be drummed in front of the deity.”
Taking objection to bureaucracy dictating terms on how to offer Puja, Surya further said, “How can an administrative body decide as to what kind of rituals must be carried out? This is to be exclusively decided by the devotees.”
“Some feel that it is okay to restrict anything in any manner as long as the Hindus are concerned, thinking we will meekly accept it,” he added further.
‘Celebrate festivals with favor but responsibly’
Thanking the BBMP for quick course correction, the BJP MP urged people to celebrate the festivals with great fervour but responsibly.
“Let’s make sure we don’t forget that the COVID virus is still around us,” concluded the MP.
