Justice for RG Kar victim: Durga Puja committees refuse Mamata govt’s Rs 1.10 lakh dole

Kolkata : Like the previous year, different community Durga Puja committees in West Bengal have refused the annual Durga Puja donation offered by the state government, demanding justice for the R.G. Kar rape and murder victim.

Last week, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the enhancement of annual Puja donations to Rs 1,10,000 to each community Puja committee, up from the figure of Rs 85,000 last year, and within a week of that announcement, two such community Durga Puja committees have announced their decision to refuse that donation amount.

The two community Durga Puja committees that have refused to accept the state government donations so far are ‘Charer Polli Sarbojonin Durga Puja Committee’, based out of Ranaghat in Nadia district, and ‘7 and14 Palli Sarbojonin Durga Puja Committee’, based out of Jaynagar in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

The organisers of both the Puja committees have claimed that they would not accept the state government’s dole till the time the R.G. Kar victim and her parents get justice.

Incidentally, both these community Puja committees also refused to accept the state government’s Puja donations last year when the entire state was boiling over the protests on the rape and murder tragedy.

According to Tuhin Roy, an organiser of the 7 and 14 Palli Sarbojonin Durga Puja Committee, although the amount of Rs 1.10 lakh matters to them, being part of the society, they would not forget their duty towards society.

“So all of us, who are associated with this Puja, decided that to curtail the expenses associated with the Puja, rather than accepting the state government. Last year, we also rejected the Rs 85,000 offered to us as the state government donation. However, neither the victim doctor nor her parents have got justice so far. So we have decided that we will reject the puja dole this year as well,” said Roy.

Partha Sarathi Chattopadhyay, the BJP legislator from Rangahat (North-East) Assembly constituency and one of the principal organisers of Charer Polli Sarbojonin Durga Puja Committee, said that it is always better to organise the Puja in a small way rather than accepting the state government’s dole.

“This state government cannot ensure the safety of women. It cannot pay the dearness allowance to the state government employees. They cannot ensure employment for the youth. So accepting the donation from such a state government is insulting Durga Puja, which is also a part of our rich cultural heritage,” said Chattopadhyay.