Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated with religious fervour and enthusiasm across West Bengal on Saturday. Dressed in new clothes, Muslims offered prayers in mosques and other places in the morning with the largest congregation being held at Red Road in Kolkata, which was attended by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
They also attended prayers at the Nakhoda Mosque, Tipu Sultan Mosque on the crossing of Prince Anwar Shah Road-Asutosh Mukherjee Road and also in Park Circus Maidan in the southern part of the city and many other places in the state. People were seen exchanging gifts and giving alms to the needy who had gathered near mosques.
Youngsters made a beeline before popular eateries and visited parks, hypermarkets and entertainment centres across the city to make the most of the day. Imams of different mosques called for peace, harmony and brotherhood while extending wishes and greetings to the people on the occasion of Eid, marking the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan.
Elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of Eid prayers, across the state were made by the administration. Banerjee offered her greetings to all Muslim brothers and sisters across the world on the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.
"With Allah's blessings, may you, your families, and your loved ones have an abundance of happiness at all times. Eid Mubarak!," the Trinamool Congress supremo said in a tweet. Speaking at a congregation for Eid namaz at the city's Red Road, she urged people to unite and ensure that the right-wing BJP is defeated in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Banerjee also claimed that some people are trying to divide the nation by pursuing politics of hate and said that she is ready to give her life but "will not allow a division of the country".
Leader of opposition and BJP legislator Suvendu Adhikari shared a video of Banerjee addressing the congregation at Red Road on Twitter, and said, "Do you have any iota of respect towards them or do you consider them to be only your vote bank?"
"You poisoned their festivities in the morning itself. Sooner or later you will be paying a heavy price for this communal brand of politics," Adhikari wrote on the microblogging site.
