On Wednesday (26th February), BJP IT Cell Head Amit Malviya slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim for scrapping a holiday in Kolkata Municipal Corporation schools for the Vishwakarma Puja to extend the Eid holiday. Amidst the outrage, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation took a U-turn.
Taking to X, BJP’s Amit Malviya called West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s “Islamic Caliphate”. He asserted that after unilaterally slashing reservations under the OBC sub-quota to include Muslims, the TMC government has now scrapped the Vishwakarma Puja holiday to extend the Eid holidays in an apparent move to appease their Muslim votebank.
“Welcome to Mamata Banerjee’s Islamic Caliphate of West Bengal. Earlier, the Chief Minister unilaterally slashed reservations under the OBC sub-quota and arbitrarily included Muslims, denying OBCs their rightful dues. The Calcutta High Court has rightly struck it down, and the matter is now being heard in the Supreme Court. The BJP will ensure justice as per constitutional provisions. Now, Firhad Hakim, Mamata Banerjee’s close aide and a modern-day Suhrawardy, has ordered the scrapping of a holiday in Kolkata Municipal Corporation schools for Vishwakarma Puja—an occasion of great significance for Hindus, particularly the dominant OBCs—and instead allocated it for Eid-ul-Fitr, extending the holiday from one day to two,” Malviya posted.
Welcome to Mamata Banerjee’s Islamic Caliphate of West Bengal.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 26, 2025
Earlier, the Chief Minister unilaterally slashed reservations under the OBC sub-quota and arbitrarily included Muslims, denying OBCs their rightful dues. The Calcutta High Court has rightly struck it down, and the… pic.twitter.com/CBnkQPu2tw
“This not only exposes Mamata Banerjee’s anti-OBC mindset but also confirms her nervousness. She knows the Muslim vote bank she once took for granted is slipping, even in the Greater Kolkata Region. What she doesn’t understand is that Muslims don’t need endless holidays—they need education and employment. An additional day off means a loss of daily wages for Muslims, most of whom work as casual laborers in Bengal. It also deprives Hindus of their rightful observances. Mamata Banerjee’s Muslim appeasement is destroying West Bengal’s social fabric. If she continues in office, in a few years, it will be difficult to recognize whether our Bengal is still the land of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Netaji, and Syama Prasad Mookerjee…” the BJP leader added.
In no time, an outrage erupted over the TMC government’s blatant Muslim appeasement and sheer neglect of Hindus. Soon after, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation cancelled the contentious notice and ‘clarified’ that it was issued without obtaining concurrence from the competent authority.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) notice regarding the holiday list for Hindi Medium KMCP Schools was issued without obtaining any concurrence from the competent authority of KMC… KMC clarifies that the original memorandum stands cancelled as it was issued without the KMC… pic.twitter.com/uU8yJEyKDj
— ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2025
“A Corrigendum (Memo No. 026/KMC/Edn/2025, dated 25.02.2025) was issued immediately cancelling the original memorandum that had typographical mistakes. KMC clarifies that the original memorandum (Memo No. 025/KMC/Edn/2025, dated 25.02.2025) stands cancelled as it was issued without KMC authority’s permission. The matter has been taken seriously, and necessary action is being initiated against the officer responsible for this lapse,” the KMC notice stated.
It added that a revised order will be issued in line with the state government’s holiday list.
