A crudely-crafted lookalike of Mahatma Gandhi was substituted for the Mahisasura by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday in an attempt to malign Durga Puja.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday that people would give a befitting reply to those who tried to malign Durga Puja and insulted Mahatma Gandhi by replacing the Mahisasura with a crudely-crafted lookalike of the father of the nation.
Her comments came in the wake of a Durga Puja organised by the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha in Kolkata depicting the buffalo demon as a Gandhi lookalike. The depiction led to a huge controversy and outrage.
"It's a matter of shame that they tried to malign Durga Puja by using the face of the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi as that of asur. All of us respect Gandhiji," Banerjee said while addressing a Bijoya Sammelani programme in Kolkata.
The chief minister lauded the police for their apt handling of the situation and for not allowing it to snowball into a major issue during the Durga Puja.
"People will give a befitting reply to those who tried to insult the father of the nation. They later changed it after police intervened," Banerjee said.
The organisers of the puja near Ruby crossing in southeast Kolkata changed the appearance of the idol that looked like Gandhi following instructions from the police after a complaint was lodged. The West Bengal BJP unit condemned the incident.