Mamata’s brother slams tendency of ruling party leaders to monopolise Durga Pujas

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s brother, Kartik Banerjee, has lashed out at the tendency of ruling party leaders to monopolise community Durga Pujas, and urged the people to be alert as otherwise such attempts would take a totalitarian shape.

Kartik Banerjee said this in an article, which he has written under his pen-name ‘Bibek Banerjee’.

Incidentally, he is also the general secretary of one such community Durga Puja committee, the Kalighat Milan Sangha, which is at a stone’s throw from the residence of the chief minister.

Kalighat Milan Sangha comes out with an annual festival magazine christened Bibek Bhasha (the language of conscience). The year’s edition of Bibek Bhasha contains an article in Bengali tiled ‘Sharodiya Durgotsaver Bhobishyot (The future of community Durga Puja)’, written by Kartik Banerjee under his pen-name Bibek Banerjee, where he slammed this tendency of the ruling party leaders’ to have absolute authority over the community puja committees.

“At times there were around 45,000 community pujas in the state. In those days such pujas used to take the shape of a true community festival. But because of the rising cost, many Pujas are shrinking their budgets. The festive mood is now getting limited to just around 15 to 16 community puja committees enjoying the patronage of ministers and the ruling party leaders. These few puja committees are also having absolute monopoly over corporate sponsorships,” the article said.

He went ahead in giving a call to the people of the state to come forward in resisting such monopolising attempts by the leaders and ministers. “Some leaders and influential leaders are constantly attempting to monopolise this great community festival. I would ask the people to remain alert. Otherwise, such monopolising attempts will take a totalitarian shape,” the article has read.

And since the article has been penned by none other than the brother of the chief minister, not a single Trinamool Congress leader was willing to give any statement in the matter.

–IANS