Kolkata, Oct 26 West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday accused the previous TMC government of restricting religious celebrations in parts of the state, alleging that its “attitude of surrender” had curtailed religious freedoms.
Addressing a ‘Bijaya Sammilani’ gathering at Milan Mela Prangan in Kolkata, Adhikari claimed that restrictions on idol immersion processions and the use of loudspeakers in several areas in previous years were not imposed during this year’s Durga Puja.
He cited Falakata in Alipurduar, Farakka in Murshidabad, Garden Reach in Kolkata, Khagrabani in Contai in Purba Medinipur, and Canning, Shirakol and Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district as places where such restrictions had allegedly been imposed earlier.
“Religion belongs to each individual, but festivals are for everyone. The responsibility to protect one’s religion rests with the individual. This is the new West Bengal, the West Bengal of change,” he said.
Adhikari said nearly 66,000 Durga Pujas were held across the state and the festival concluded peacefully, barring the Chorbagan tragedy. Nineteen people were killed in a stampede at the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal.
Describing the incident as deeply painful, he said the loss of lives mattered more than the government’s response.
“What the government has done or intends to do is not the main issue. An extremely tragic and painful incident has taken place,” he said.
Adhikari said his government would neither dismiss the incident as a minor one nor attribute it to a conspiracy.
Referring to the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Vijayadashami address, he said the tragedy should not be downplayed and acknowledged that human error was involved.
“This is the new West Bengal. The government will not shield anyone responsible,” he said.
“As the puja was organised with government approval, a committee involving a retired judge had been entrusted with the inquiry after consultation with the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court,” he said.
Adhikari said the findings and recommendations of an impartial investigation would be made public and circulated among puja committees as a booklet to help prevent a recurrence.
The chief minister also defended the decision to shift 25 injured persons from government hospitals to private healthcare facilities, saying their treatment had been prioritised over institutional considerations.
“There has been no failure here. We did not keep patients in government hospitals out of ego or pride. The priority was to ensure that they received treatment and could return home,” he said.
At the programme, tributes were paid to the deceased and financial assistance handed over to the families of the injured.
Adhikari said special preparatory meetings would begin when government offices reopen on October 28 to review security and crowd-management arrangements for Kali Puja, Diwali, Chhath Puja and Jagaddhatri Puja.
He urged puja committees and the administration to remain vigilant, particularly at crowded venues and Chhath ghats, stating that lessons from past incidents would help prepare for the remaining festivals.
Adhikari said preliminary preparations had also begun for the Gangasagar Mela, which the government intends to organise to international standards.
Recalling the 2017 incident in which 17 pilgrims died after a jetty collapsed, he said the administration would focus on preventing a recurrence.
(PTI News)
