After vandalising idols, desecrating mandaps and pandals and executing multiple targeted attacks on Hindu devotees during the Durga Puja celebrations, radical Islamists have set their eyes on Lakshmi Puja, an equally revered festival for Hindus. Lakshmi Puja was celebrated this year on October 16.
In a post shared on X on October 16, Wednesday, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari shared details of one such act of vandalism carried out in the Diamond Harbour area in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas.
The BJP leader shared a video where the idol of Maa Lakshmi stood vandalised and wrote in Bengali, “Idol of Mother Lakshmi of Bawali Rathtala Puja Committee of Bajbaj Assembly of South 24 Parganas was attacked by jihadists.”
He raised concerns about how West Bengal, under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership, was going the way of Bangladesh. “Following recent incidents in Garden Reach, Kolkata, and Shyampur, Howrah, Diamond Harbour has now seen similar tensions, with Hindu communities expressing a growing sense of betrayal. The latest incident involved the desecration of a Lakshmi idol at the Bawali Rathtala Puja Committee in Bajbaj, South 24 Parganas. Many Hindus in West Bengal feel that their right to practice their religion is increasingly under threat, drawing uncomfortable comparisons to incidents in Bangladesh where Hindu practices have faced disruption.
Despite past incidents, such as the vandalism of a Durga idol at the same location a few years ago, there has been little to no action from the authorities. The state police remain silent, and no arrests have been made, which has fueled allegations of a political climate of appeasement under the Mamata Banerjee government. I urge Hindus to wake up now, otherwise they will not be able to perform puja-archana in their own homes,” Suvendu Adhikari wrote, going on to dub the situation as the “Diamond Harbour Model in Lakshmi Puja.
লক্ষ্মী পুজোয় ডায়মন্ড হারবার মডেল:-
— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) October 16, 2024
কলকাতার গার্ডেনরিচ, হাওড়ার শ্যামপুরের পর এবার ডায়মন্ড হারবার, হিন্দু ধর্মাবলম্বী জনগণের আস্থা এবং বিশ্বাসের উপর আঘাত এখনো অব্যাহত এই রাজ্যে।
এবার দক্ষিণ ২৪ পরগনার বজবজ বিধানসভার বাওয়ালি রথতলা পুজো কমিটির মা লক্ষ্মীর প্রতিমা জেহাদিদের… pic.twitter.com/LUeku1S0mZ
Similarly, the West Bengal BJP also took to X on Wednesday, October 16, to share details of a similar incident of vandalism of the Lakshmi idol in West Bengal’s Duplexpatti Kumor area, Chandannagar, Hooghly.
Late Monday night, some "vote-bank" hooligans vandalized the idols of Maa Laxmi in Duplexpatti Kumor Para, Chandannagar, Hooghly. In record time, artist Shibu Pal rebuilt the idol by early morning today on Kojagori Laxmi Purnima. But how much longer can Bengal endure such pain?… pic.twitter.com/XlsD9aorHY
— BJP West Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) October 16, 2024
Muslims attacked Durga Puja in West Bengal
On Sunday (13th October), Muslim mobs went on a rampage in Shyampur in the Howrah district of West Bengal. They attacked a Durga Puja pandal, vandalised the idol of the Hindu deity and set shops ablaze.
The Shyampur Bazaar Babasyayi Samiti organised an art competition wherein participants were asked to draw ’eminent personalities of different religions’ on the occasion of Durga Puja.
According to Hindu activist Devdutta Maji, the organisers displayed pictures of Prophets of all religions to educate Hindu children. During the course of the ‘appeasement’, they also put up pictures of Prophet Muhammad.
Soon after, Muslim mobs stormed the streets of Shyampur to avenge the ‘insult’ to Prophet Muhammad.
In visuals that surfaced on social media, it could be seen that the idol of Goddess Durga was broken. Several shops and establishments were set on fire. The violent Muslim mob also attacked the police and Hindu devotees with stones.
No, No what you are thinking is totally wrong. It's not #Bangladesh this image is from Howrah, Shyampur under Uluberia Sub Division. You easily understand who is behind this heinous crime. pic.twitter.com/TSdoj7Odme
— Amit Thakur 🇮🇳 (@Amit_Thakur_BJP) October 13, 2024
Earlier on 11th October, a frenzied Muslim mob stormed the Puja Pandal of New Bengal Sporting Club at the Garden Reach area of Kolkata and threatened to vandalise the idol if celebrations weren’t stopped.
