Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has vehemently criticised the Narendra Modi Government’s “vendetta politics” after the Income Tax Department started issuing summons to the organisers of various Durga Puja committees of Kolkata.
A fuming Banerjee said that the people from all segments and all walks of life irrespective of their caste and creed take part in Durga Puja making it a mass event. But now “they (Central Government) is sending notices to the Durga Puja committees seeking report on their expenditure. The Puja committees are being asked to pay income tax and show TDS certificates. But these are non-profit organisations. Why will they have to pay income tax?”
Banerjee personally goes on to inaugurate most of the important Durga Pujas in Kolkata for a number of days apparently making them big tourist attractions. In fact her Government gives a yearly grant of Rs 10,000 to all the big budget Durga Puja committees to enable them perform in a better manner.
Notices were served by the IT Department under Section 133(6) of the IT Act to the Durga Puja committees asking them to explain their income and expenditure.
A livid Chief Minister who has taken personal initiative to promote the festivities as a world class carnival wondered whether the Modi Government was “trying to stop Durga Puja in Bengal? I urge the Durga Puja committees to unite and refrain from going to the IT Department because BJP is trying to stop the most important cultural activity of Bengal and we will not allow them to do that.”
The Centre was allowing the champion fraudsters to decamp with thousands of crores of people’s money but was harassing the small Durga Puja committees of Bengal, Banerjee said.
The Chief Minister who also criticised the transfer of CBI Director Alok Verma as an “act of vendetta” and an “unfortunate moment for the country” said all the institutions and political parties that were questioning the acts done by the BJP were being attacked and victimised by the Government.