Suvendu Adhikari urges vigilance against ‘asuras’, anti-national forces

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari urged people to remain vigilant against "asuras and anti-national forces" while attending a Ganesh Puja event in Kolkata. He also defended Sanatani religious symbols and called for unity among different communities in the state

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday urged people to remain vigilant against “asuras and anti-national forces”, apparently referring to the Left parties.

He made the comment while attending a Ganesh Puja pandal in the city.

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“I have been receiving a lot of abuse since morning, mainly from Communists, for celebrating the puja and using the word puja. I want to tell Communist Party leaders that I will offer pushpanjali at (state secretariat) Nabanna on Vishwakarma Puja day. Come, join me,” Adhikari said.

The CM has repeatedly been slamming the Left parties for writing “sharadotsab”, and not “Durga Puja”, on the bookstalls they set up outside pandals during the festival.

“One has to stay cautious of the asuras, stay away from anti-national forces and tukde tukde gangs,” Adhikari said.

The central theme of the Durga Puja celebration is the defeat of the ‘Asura’, the demon, at the hands of the goddess.

Inaugurating the Bharat Sevashram Ganesh Puja, the chief minister described West Bengal as not just the country’s cultural capital but the “capital of spiritual awakening”, and called for unity among its people.

He came out strongly in defence of Sanatani religious symbols, saying the “tilak”, “dhoti” and “tulsi” for men, and the “shakha”, “pola” and “sindoor” worn by married women, deserved protection and respect, and that every Sanatani had a duty to safeguard their dignity.

Adhikari argued that Ganesh Puja, though traditionally associated with Maharashtra, had spread widely across Bengali households in recent years, much like Kojagari Lakshmi Puja, describing this as a sign of “Sanatani” unity.

He said a “wall” had once divided Bengali speakers from Gujarati, Bihari and Hindi-speaking communities, branding the latter as outsiders, but claimed that the wall had now been broken down.

“We are all Sanatanis, we are all Indians, we are all Hindustanis,” he said.