Modi govt awards financial assistance to Bengal Durga Puja committees
The Modi government has awarded financial incentives, totalling Rs 22.5 lakh, to 35 Durga Puja celebration committees in Bengal.
While 10 Puja committees have been given Rs 1 lakh each, 25 committees have been given Rs 50,000 each.
The cheques were handed over to representatives of the Puja committees at a programme in Alipore in Kolkata on Sunday (January 28), held in association with an organisation named Bangla Abar,. The event was attended by, among others, renowned Durga sculptor and 2024 Padma Shri awardee Sanatan Rudra Pal.
Lok Sabha elections are around the corner. Amit Shah has set a target of winning 35 seats for the BJP in Bengal. In this scenario, is the Modi government trying to wield the Durga Puja as a weapon to win the hearts of Bengalis?
It needs to be noted that among the 10 prominent Puja committees which have been awarded Rs 1 lakh each is BJP leader (and Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillor) Sajal Ghosh’s well-known Santosh Mitra Square Durga Puja in Kolkata.
Then, a Durga Puja committee in Nandigram, the assembly constituency of the party’s Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, has been given Rs 50,000. Nandigram is also where Adhijkari defeated Mamata Banerjee and has been know to have a substantial support base of Trinamool Congress, right from the days when Banerjee launched the struggle there against CPI(M).
For the past few years, the Durga Puja committees in the state have been receiving grants from Mamata Banerjee’s government. Last year, the grant to the big organisers was increased from Rs 60,000 per committee to Rs 70,000, and the district Puja committees were given Rs 30 to 80,000 each. The BJP has gone one up in this case at least.
