Durga Puja committees divided over CM’s appeal to place PM’s photo in pandals

Several Durga Puja committees in the national capital have expressed reservations over Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s recent appeal urging organisers to place Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photograph near the feet of Goddess Durga to seek blessings for his health and long life.

While no official order has been issued, the proposal has triggered mixed reactions among organisers. Indira Neel Sarkar, president of the Arambagh Durga Puja Committee, told The Tribune, “I was present at the meeting when the suggestion was discussed. Given the government’s support for Durga Puja celebrations, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea. But there is no compulsion. It is up to individual committees to decide.”

Others, however, voiced strong opposition. Lekha Dasgupta, a member of the Durga Puja Committee of K Block, Cooperative Ground, CR Park, said, “It cannot be mandatory. People should have the freedom to celebrate in their own way. If some want to display the PM’s photo, they may.”

Echoing similar sentiments, P Chakraborty, president of the Dilshad Garden Durga Puja Committee, remarked, “We worship Durga Mata, so placing someone’s photo at her feet does not seem right. The picture could perhaps be kept at the side of the pandal.”

The matter has also snowballed into a political row. Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the BJP of “politicising faith,” saying, “Narendra Modi is not the first Prime Minister. Never before has any CM asked that the PM’s photo be placed so.”

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “Delhiites remember how the Kejriwal government forced Puja Samitis to display banners and portraits of Kejriwal, Sisodia and local MLAs.”