Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today inaugurated a Kali Puja in north Kolkata. On the occasion, the CM said that an unholy nexus has gripped our nation during this festive season, which is making her anxious.
Referring to brutal murder of innocent Bengalis in Assam yesterday, the CM said the light of festivities have been marred by the grief over these killings.
She also said that minds which are full of darkness can never see beyond propaganda.
Highlights of the Chief Minister’s speech:
- On one hand we are basking in the light of festivities. And on the other hand, my mind is filled with sadness. Yesterday, innocent people were brutally murdered in Tinsukia, Assam; I can see their faces. They belong to poorest of the poor families. Murderers do not discriminate between the rich and the poor. I am feeling extremely sad.
- They are evicting Biharis in Gujarat and Bengalis in Assam. An ominous atmosphere is prevailing in this country, which is making me anxious. There is a tinge of grief in our festive spirit.
- If you ask any businessman how their business is running, they will tell you that they are going through a bad phase. Agencies are threatening them. This situation never existed in the country before. Now an atmosphere of fear rules every household.
- Many women worship Maa Lakshmi during Deepavali. They celebrate Dhanteras. Earlier, women used to save money in ‘Lakshmi Bhanr’. Now they are scared to even keep piggybanks at home, lest agencies take those away under some pretext. Agencies are threatening people to join some committee of RSS or face the consequences. This is unprecedented.
- We love this country, hence we are feeling sad. We worship the goddess because we love our country. Our motherland is like our deity. Maa-Ammi-Mother – everyone is the same for us. This is our janmabhoomi, karmabhoomi. If she is not happy, how can we be happy?
- I have often heard some people say that we have stopped Durga Puja in Bengal. How can someone make such baseless statements? Hinduism is centuries old, much older than these parties. Lakhs of people observe Durga Puja, Kali Puja. We worship multitudes of gods and goddesses. This is the plurality of our culture. Minds which are full of darkness can never see beyond propaganda.
