Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) have strongly objected to using shoes and slippers for decorating a Durga Puja Pandal in the Dum Dum area of Kolkata. Shubhendu Adhikari, leader of the opposition, has sought the intervention of the Chief Secretary of the State to intervene and get the shoes removed from the Pandal.
On October 9, Adhikari published a tweet with an image of the Pandal on Twitter. He called it an insult to the Hindu faith and demanded immediate action from the authorities. He wrote, “A Durga Puja pandal in Dumdum Park has been decorated with shoes. This heinous act of insulting Maa Durga in the name of ‘Artistic liberty’ won’t be tolerated. I urge the Chief & Home Secretary to intervene & compel the organizers to remove the shoes before Shashti.”
https://twitter.com/SuvenduWB/status/1446758128121384960?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwTathagata Roy, senior BJP leader and former Governor of Meghalaya, also echoed Adhikari’s sentiments. In a statement, he said that in the name of freedom of art, everything could not be tolerated. He further called the decoration an insult to Mata Durga and said that such decorations hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus.
VHP has also written a letter to the Home Secretary of Bengal. They demanded the removal of the shoes from the Pandal. The VHP wrote, “We request you to take immediate and appropriate steps to remove the shoes from the Pandal. Unless these objectionable shoes are removed from the place of worship, the religious sentiments of Bengali Hindus will not calm down. I request you to take strong action against these miscreants that are destroying communal harmony and insulting Bengali Hindus.”
Organizers claimed shoes placed from Pandal
Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra Samiti’s official said that the shoes had been placed away from the Pandal. He said, “Our theme this year is Kisan Andolan. Accordingly, shoes have been installed on the way to the Pandal, which symbolizes a scene of police lathi-charge on the agitating farmers.”
The organizers of Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra Club Puja also used farmers’ protests as the theme for this year Pandal. They have placed a replica of a tractor on the way of the Pandal. On one part, they have written the names of the farmers who died during the protests. There is also a poster that reads, “We are farmers. Not terrorist. Farmers are food soldiers.”