Bengal Congress leader arrested for burning Bageshwar Baba photograph

A West Bengal Congress leader has been arrested for allegedly burning a photograph of Bageshwar Dham chief priest Dhirendra Krishna Shastri during a protest against his remarks on non-vegetarian food during Durga Puja, police said.

South Kolkata District Congress Committee general secretary Atanu Das was picked up from his residence in the Tollygunge area late Thursday night and subsequently arrested, a police officer said.

The arrest followed West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's direction in the state Assembly to Kolkata Police to take action against those who had allegedly burnt Shastri's photograph outside Bhabanipur police station.

“A saint had recently visited our state and spoke in his own way about the ideals of patriotism, nationalism, united nationhood and this country's tradition and culture. Those who want to accept them can do it, while others are at liberty to reject them. He did not impose anything on anyone,” Adhikari said in the Assembly on Thursday.

He said he had seen people burning Shastri's portraits outside the Bhabanipur police station and directed the Kolkata Police commissioner to arrest them.

“We will not tolerate such activities in this state anymore. There has been enough appeasement politics here,” he said.

Congress leaders said the party would stand by Das and questioned the decision to arrest him. They pointed to instances in the past when photographs and effigies of political leaders, including Jyoti Basu, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mamata Banerjee, had allegedly been burnt without similar action.

The party said it would continue to protest against what it considers an insult to Bengali culture and food traditions.

The controversy began after Shastri, popularly known as Bageshwar Baba, made remarks at a programme in Howrah, urging people not to consume or sell non-vegetarian food near Durga Puja pandals.

He described such food as “dirty” and referred to those who consume it as “pakhandi” or hypocrites, while appealing to Hindus in West Bengal to boycott such practices.

His comments drew criticism from several quarters. West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, meanwhile, said Bengalis had the right to follow their traditional food habits.

The Congress subsequently filed several police complaints against Shastri and staged a protest outside Bhabanipur police station, during which banners and photographs of the self-styled godman were allegedly burnt.