Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday prayed to Maa Durga to bring Parivartan in Bengal so as to transform it into Sonar Bangla (golden Bengal).
Shah, who was in Kolkata to inaugurate Durga Puja pandals, including the one at Raja Santosh Mitra Square, which is organised by State BJP leader Sajal Ghosh said, “Today I prayed to Maa Durga that let there be a Parivartan in Bengal Assembly elections in 2026, so that a new Government can be formed that can build a real golden Bengal.”
Saying that the people of Bengal deserved a safe, secure, peaceful and prosperous life with opulence as was envisioned by Poet Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, “once a Sonar Bangla is built, the people of Bengal will once again be prosperous, safe, secured, leading a peaceful life as Kavi Guru Rabindranath Tagore dreamt of.”
Shah, who later visited the iconic Kalighat Kali temple, also inaugurated the Durga Puja pandal of the BJP-backed Paschim Banga Sanskriti Mancha at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Salt Lake.
The Home Minister’s visit assumes importance against the backdrop of approaching State elections which are a mere 7-8 months away. Incidentally Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also been inaugurating several hundred Durga Puja pandals in the State. She had also declared a special grant of more than `1 lakh each to State’s 3,000 Durga Puja committees.
In an apparent bid to blunt the Trinamool Congress’s campaign against the BJP calling it an anti-Bengal party, Shah invoked social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar on his 205th birth anniversary, saying India would never forget his contribution to the cause of education not only in Bengal but the entire country.
“We cannot forget what Vidyasagar ji did for education in Bengal and the entire country. He dedicated his entire life to the Bengali language, the State’s culture and the education of women. Today, on behalf of crores of BJP workers, I bow to the feet of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar,” he said.
The Trinamool Congress was, however, prompt to react, saying there was no need for the BJP to usher in Sonar Bengal as the Chief Minister had already done that before.
Senior Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim said that “there is no need for Amit Shah ji or his BJP to turn Bengal into a Sonar Bangla as our Chief Minister Mamata didi has already done it,” comparing Shah with “weather birds” that would “continue to come and go but Mamata di will continue to remain in power in Bengal.”