Shah vows to keep fighting corruption in Bengal

Kolkata: Union home minister Amit Shah said that he would “keep coming back to Bengal” to fight against corruption and “bring change” to the state. The minister, who came to Kolkata on a brief visit to inaugurate the Santosh Mitra Square puja, themed on the Ram Mandir, said Bengal had sent a message to the world even before the temple was inaugurated in Ayodhya.
“I have not come here to deliver any political speech. This is an occasion when I seek blessings of Goddess Durga. Today, I will pray for a corruption and oppression-free West Bengal,” Shah told the gathering. Shah, who came to the city for Durga Puja after two years, said, “We will inaugurate the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya in January. But I can see the replica of the mandir here. Uttar Kolkata has inaugurated the temple even before that. This is Bengal’s message to the entire world,” Shah said. BJP president J P Nadda is also likely to visit Kolkata during the pujas. Drawing a connection with Lord Ram’s “Akal Bodhan” and Bengal’s “asmita”, Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said that the untimely worship of Goddess Durga by Lord Ram before he killed Mahishasur paved the way for Akal Bodhan. “Akal Bodhan is celebrated in the most gorgeous way in Bengal. That is how the state connects with Lord Ram. Those who term Ram as an outsider should take a lesson from that,” he said. Shah had earlier asked Bengal BJP politicians to celebrate Durga Puja in a bigger way this year and increase their involvement. BJP has also started promoting puja pandals across the state as well as the achievements of the NDA government over the past nine years.