KOLKATA: Calcutta High Court on Friday stayed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's grant of Rs 10,000 each for 28,000 Durga Puja committees of the state. The division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Debashish Kar Gupta and Justice Sampa Sarkar questioned the basis on which the exchequer's money was spent on Durga Puja and whether funds were given only for Durga Puja or all other festivals.
"On what grounds is the state using the exchequer money for Durga Puja celebration? Is there a proper guideline to issue that money? Are there checks and balances? Is money only given for Durga Puja? What about other festivals? Is money given to other festivals as well?," the bench asked the state government.
To this the lawyer representing the state government said that the doles were to promote Mamata Banerjee's pet project 'Safe Drive Save Life' to which the court asked why the state government did not take up the campaign themselves. The state government has to answer to these questions in the next hearing on October 8 and till then the stay on the state government grant would continue.
The PIL questioning the grant was filed a Left-oriented trade union at the High Court on September 19. Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee announced a grant of Rs 28 crores to 25,000 Durga Puja committees in the districts and 3,000 Durga Puja committees in Kolkata on September 10.
The court stay comes close after Imams recently protested against the doles given only to the Durga Puja committees and demanded the same for Muslim festivals as well.