Kolkata MC kicks up row over Eid holiday

A political controversy has erupted in the wake of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) cancelling the Vishwakarma Puja holiday and adjusted it to enhance the Eid-ul-Fitar holiday for two days from the existing one day.

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A “corrigendum” issued on Tuesday by the Chief Manager of KMC’s Education Department stated, “Eid-ul-Fitr holiday will be for two days from March 31, 2025, to April 1, 2025.” “There will be no holiday for Vishwakarma Puja on September 17, 2025, as one day from its allocated holiday has been adjusted to extend the Eid-ul-Fitar holiday,” it said.

BJP leader Amit Malviya targeted the TMC government, and said the state had become an Islamic caliphate.

In a post on X, Malviya wrote, “Welcome to Mamata Banerjee’s Islamic Caliphate of West Bengal. Earlier, the CM unilaterally slashed reservations under the OBC sub-quota and arbitrarily included Muslims, denying OBCs their rightful dues. The Calcutta High Court has rightly struck it down, and the matter is now being heard in the Supreme Court. The BJP will ensure justice as per constitutional provisions.”

He said, “Firhad Hakim, Mamata’s close aide and a modern-day Suhrawardy, has ordered the scrapping of a holiday in KMC schools for Vishwakarma Puja an occasion of great significance for Hindus. particularly OBCs and instead allocated it for Eid-ul-Fitr.”