In Bengal BJP chief’s Durga remarks, Trinamool finds strategy to push ‘outsider’ tag

WITH THE CAMPAIGN for the assembly elections in West Bengal increasingly polarized, the Trinamool Congress hopes to take advantage of recent comments made by BJP State President Dilip Ghosh on Goddess Durga to further its argument that the BJP is a party of “outsiders” who do not understand the culture of Bengal.

At a media event on February 12, Ghosh, while explaining the difference between his thoughts on Ram and Durga, said that Ram was a “political icon” and an “ideal man”, adding at one point: “Durga kahan se aa gayi (where Durga comes from) ”.

While Trinamool alleged that the BJP has insulted Goddess Durga, the BJP has said what Ghosh clarified, even at the event, that they saw no comparison between the two deities.

Trinamool sources said the party plans to bring these comments to the people of Bengal, using “technology, and through our workers on the ground.” Immediately after Ghosh’s comments, the party’s top leaders and ministers took to social media with the hashtag “BJPinsultsDurga.”

“This now has to intensify. In various places, party workers make sure people listen to what Ghosh said. If you listen carefully, he mocks Durga twice. He once says that Ram’s ancestry can be recorded for 14 generations, while Durga’s cannot. In another it says where Durga has come from in this conversation, ”said a senior leader, adding that TMC has begun to aggressively campaign on the issue.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Ghosh criticized Trinamool for using “Durga for political purposes.”

Who is now using Durga for his political purpose? A party that imposed restrictions on Saraswati Puja. They feel insecure and have an inferiority complex problem. They are trying to wash away their past sins by politically using Goddess Durga. Durga is a spiritual and religious icon for us. We bid, but Ram is a political icon to us. BJP talks about Ram Rajya and it is also our ultimate goal. The TMC has no ideology or icons. So they are trying to raise issues like this, ”he said.

At the India Today Conclave in Kolkata on February 12, Ghosh had said: “Such parties (TMC) talk about religion instead of politics and politics instead of religion. We do politics openly. Bhagwan Ram was a king. Some think it was an avatar. Their 14 generation ancestry can be traced. Can Durga’s ancestry be found? Ram is regarded as a king, an ideal man, and a manager. ”

“We have a Bengali Ramayana. Gandhiji had given us the imagination of Ram Rajya. I don’t know where Durga came from. To destroy Ravan, he prayed to Durga. So it is another matter. I don’t understand how you can make Durga face Ram. These people have taught that Ram is not a deity in Bengal and I don’t know where this conception came from, ”he said (translated from Hindi).

Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, TMC head whip in Rajya Sabha, said the BJP “does not understand the power of Durga in all of India”, not just in Bengal. “In eastern India, Durga puja is a more popular festival than any other. This has been going on for centuries. Ram Navami or worship is a North Indian festival. Then there cannot be a clash of both. People have faith and respect for both Ram and Maa Durga, and one should not distinguish between the two. One should not slander either of them. ”