BJP Bengal chief’s remarks on non-Bengali role in 1946 riots spark row

Recalling the role of non-Bengali communities during the 1946 communal riots in Kolkata, BJP's West Bengal unit president Samik Bhattacharya has appealed to people to remain united to ensure that the city retained an atmosphere conducive to celebrating Durga Puja.

Speaking at the 'khunti puja' (pole worship ritual marking the official start of Durga Puja preparations) ceremony organised by Shatadal Sangha in central Kolkata's Bowbazar area on Sunday, Bhattacharya said communities such as the Guptas and the Jaiswals had stood by the Bengalis during the riots and “saved them from extinction”.

His comments drew criticism from the opposition parties, with the Congress claiming that the BJP leader's remarks were driven by electoral politics and the TMC accusing him of “insulting” Bengalis..

“Standing in north Kolkata, one thing must be said: If the Guptas and the Jaiswals had not been here, if they had not exhausted their entire wealth to provide the iron needed to make swords, the gentlefolk and aristocratic Bengalis of north Kolkata that we see today would not have existed,” the state party chief said.

Bhattacharya, flanked by state Industries Minister Tapas Roy and Tamaghna Ghosh, the BJP president of north Kolkata, said the communities had stood by Bengalis and remained united during the difficult period.

"To understand Kolkata, one must come here (to North Kolkata)," Bhattacharya, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP, said.

He also alleged that Durga Puja celebrations will henceforth be free of restrictions and will be held peacefully, alleging that Durga Puja had “virtually faced a severe crisis” in several parts of Bengal bordering Bangladesh over the past few years under the previous government.

The BJP leader referred to the recent deaths of Murshidabad father-son duo idol makers – Hargobinda Das and Chandan Das – who were allegedly "hacked to death for crime of possessing the talent to sculpt idols of Kali, Saraswati and Lakshmi”.

Indicating appeasement politics by the erstwhile TMC regime, he cited Beldanga, where the Durga idol immersion, organised by Bharat Sevashram Sangha, used to take place in a pond, alleging that organisers could not gain access to the river for the immersion.

“Bengal will witness a different kind of Durga Puja this year,” he said, alleging that during the TMC regime, “the government would decide when immersion would take place and would even prepare the schedule..

Bhattacharya said residents would this year be able to visit puja pandals without the closed gates and traffic restrictions seen in previous years at various location.

Responding sharply to Bhattacharya’s comments on non-Bengali community support, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh accused the BJP leader of “insulting” Bengalis.

“Bengalis have their own tradition and a history of the freedom struggle. They are distinguished by their own identity and individuality. I did not expect a comment that Bengalis would not have survived if the Guptas and the Jaiswals had not stood by them,” Ghosh said.

With the civic polls approaching, the Congress alleged that BJP leaders were trying to attract votes by “cleverly” invoking division.

“The BJP is deliberately trying to break and fragment Bengali heritage. Rabindranath Tagore himself had taken to the streets to prevent the partition of Bengal. Before the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections, they are trying to sow the seeds of division. I do not know on the basis of which documents these statements are being made. But such remarks will damage Kolkata’s heritage,” Bengal Pradesh Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar said.

CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty alleged that Bhattacharya’s comments were "ahistorical".

“This has little connection with history. The British plotted to divide Bengal because they knew it was the most advanced province in the whole of India. People foiled that attempt in 1905. But why did they succeed in 1947? Because there was a conspiracy,” he said.

“When people were getting united, we needed to understand who else, along with the British, had conspired to divide them. At that time, the role of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee or the Hindu Mahasabha was insignificant. But it is true that a large section of the Congress leadership continued to support the sharing of power. They wanted Bengal to be divided,” Chakraborty said, taking a simultaneous dig at the Congress party.

Bhattacharya, meanwhile, repeated his caution against political groups attempting to take over pujas that had been organised by their respective committees for years.

“If anyone tries to remove those who have been conducting a puja for years in the name of politics, as a political worker, I can say our party will not support such moves,” he said.