KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday night clarified that immersion of Durga idols on Dashami will be halted only for 24 hours.
The decision was taken after Mamata met Pooja and Muharram committees of the state.
“This year Durga Puja and Muharram fall on same day. Except, 24 hour period on Muharram day, immersions can take place on October 2, 3 and 4,” she tweeted.
Earlier in the day, the West Bengal Chief Minister issued an order against the immersion of Durga idols on Dashami during the procession of Muharram which will be observed on October 1.
“No idol immersion after 6 pm on Dashami (September 30) till October 1 due to Muharram processions, immersion will resume from October 2,” Banerjee had said in an official statement.
The Chief Minister had also issued a similar order last year, however, it was stayed by the Calcutta High Court.
The directive, however, did not go down well with the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) who accused Banerjee of doing vote bank politics sidelining the high court’s order.
BJP leader Sambit Patra said, “She cares about politics of appeasement. In the year 2016, she put a similar restriction on the immersion of Durga idol which was reprimanded by the Calcutta High Court. The high court had said that this is nothing but appeasement politics and gave instructions to Mamata Banerjee to not do this again. This year again Banerjee is doing vote bank politics, sidelining the high court’s order. This is not right.”