Kolkata, 14 September (H.S.) : West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari took a sarcastic swipe at the Left over its alleged opposition to Ganesh Puja, inviting Communist leaders to join him in offering pushpanjali at the state secretariat, Nabanna, on Vishwakarma Puja.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Ganesh Puja organised by Bharat Sevashram Sangha in Ballygunge on Monday, Adhikari said people had broken the “barriers of unnecessary restrictions” surrounding religious celebrations and brought Ganapati out of homes and onto the streets.

Adhikari said the Bharat Sevashram Sangha had been organising the puja for the past four years. Earlier, permission was not granted to hold the celebration on the streets and it had to remain confined to the premises. Despite this, he said, a large number of people used to attend the festival.

“Ultimately, the people have brought Ganapati out of the four walls of homes and turned it into a public celebration,” he said.

The Chief Minister said the previous government could not have imagined Ganesh Puja taking the form of a major public festival on the streets of Bengal. “People have made it possible. Devipaksha will begin in a few days, and with Ganesh Chaturthi, the festive mood has already begun in Bengal,” he said.

Taking a dig at the Left, Adhikari said some Communists were questioning why Ganesh Puja, which they associated with Maharashtra, was being celebrated in Bengal.

“We are all Indian Hindus. There should be no wall of regional division among us. We have broken and crushed that wall. We will all live together,” he said.

In a sarcastic invitation to Left leaders, Adhikari said, “I will offer pushpanjali at Nabanna on Vishwakarma Puja day. I invite you to come to Nabanna that day and stand beside me to offer pushpanjali.”

The Chief Minister also targeted what he described as “anti-national forces” and the “tukde-tukde gang”, urging people to maintain distance from those who, he alleged, wanted to harm the country while living in it.

He also called for the preservation of Sanatani traditions and cultural symbols, including tika, sikha, shakha and pola.

Adhikari said the growing popularity of Ganesh Puja in Bengali households reflected greater unity among Sanatanis. He said the wall that had once divided Bengali-speaking people from Gujarati, Bihari and Hindi-speaking communities had been broken down.

“We are all Sanatanis, we are all Indians and we are all Hindustanis,” he said.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh