HC lifts idol immersion bar; BJP exults, Mamata hits out

Kolkata, September 21

The Calcutta High Court today allowed immersion of Durga idols on all days from Vijayadashami on September 30, including on Muharram the next day, and directed the West Bengal Government to make necessary security arrangements.

A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Rakesh Tiwari and Justice Harish Tandon asked the government to chalk out designated routes for immersion and “tazia” processions. The directions came on three PILs against the restrictions on the immersion of idols at the end of the five-day Durga Puja festival by the Mamata Banerjee government.

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The TMC government had said no Durga idol immersions would be allowed after 10 pm on September 30 and the entire day on October 1.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the “cheeks of Mamata Banerjee have turned red from slaps frequently handed down to her by the HC but she refuses to learn”.

Mamata later slammed the critics for accusing her of Muslim appeasement, saying the charge was “insulting”. “No one accuses me of appeasement when I attend programmes of Hindus, Christians, Buddhists... Does anyone immerse idols on a Saturday or on ‘ekadashi’ day after Vijayadashami?”  she said. — TNS