Offerings to Kaali vary from place to place, say priests after Moitra’s remarks

A day after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) condemned its Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra’s statement that Kaali is a “meat eating and alcohol accepting Goddess” to her and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded her arrest on charges of hurting Hindu religious sentiments, many priests and believers on Wednesday echoed Moitra’s line and said that offerings to Kaali do vary from place to place.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan condemned Moitra’s comment and a first information report (FIR) was registered against her under section 295A (hurting religious sentiments) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by the Bhopal crime branch.

“Hindu religious sentiments have been hurt by Mahua Moitra’s statement and insult of Hindu deities will not be tolerated at any cost,” Chouhan said.

Also Read | Madhya Pradesh police book TMC MP Mahua Moitra over comments on Goddess Kaali

In Bengal, the BJP has lodged police complaints against her in Kolkata and three districts till Wednesday afternoon and even threatened to move court.

“The Bengal government has lodged police cases against (suspended BJP leader) Nupur Sharma for her comments (on Prophet Mohammed) but what Moitra has done is far more serious. I am giving the police 10 days to arrest Moitra. If they don’t, I will move the Calcutta high court,” said leader of the Opposition in the Bengal legislative assembly, Suvendu Adhikari.

Also Read |Goddess Kali comment: Mahua Moitra faces complaints, says ‘Bring it on, BJP’

Moitra made the statement at a media conclave on Tuesday in reference to the controversial poster of Toronto-based Indian filmmaker Leena Manimekalai’s movie, Kaali, which shows the actor playing the Goddess smoking a cigarette and holding an LGBTQ+ flag. Police cases were filed against Manimekalai in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh after a row erupted.

Without commenting on the movie or its poster, Moitra said individuals have the right to imagine and worship Gods in their own ways.

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The MP said: “If you go to Sikkim, for example, when they do their puja in the morning, they give whiskey to God. In some places (like) Uttar Pradesh, if you tell them you are giving whiskey or something as prasad (offerings) to God they will say ‘Oh my God ! It is blasphemous.”

Moitra said: “Kaali to me is a meat eating, alcohol accepting Goddess. That is the version of Kali. If you go to Tarapith you have all the sadhus smoking. That is the version of Kali that people worship. Within Hinduism, being a Kaali worshipper, I have the freedom to imagine Kaali that way…..you have the freedom to worship your God as a vegetarian. Religion should remain in the personal ambit.”

The TMC distanced itself from Moitra on Tuesday.

Also Read | From ‘Kaali’ to ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, 5 movie posters that created controversy

In a tweet, the party said that “her views expressed on Goddess Kaali have been made in her personal capacity and are not endorsed by the party in any manner or form. All India Trinamool Congress strongly condemns such comments.”

This drew strong reaction from a section of netizens who came out in support of what Moitra said and questioned the TMC’s stand.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor sought to defend Moitra saying that she was being attacked for saying something what every Hindu knows.The forms of worship vary widely across the country, he said. “We have reached a stage where no one can say anything publicly about any aspect of religion without someone claiming to be offended,” Tharoor wrote in this tweet.

Also Read |‘His personal opinion’: Congress on Shashi Tharoor’s support for Mahua Moitra

The Tarapith temple Moitra referred to is located in Birbhum district. It is arguably the most-visited among the Shakti Pithas – pilgrimage destinations dedicated to Shaktism - located in Bengal.

Taramoy Mukherjee, president of the Tarapith priests’ association, said that those who follow the Tantras offer meat, fish and karan sudha (alcohol) to the Goddess and even sacrifice animals.

“I don’t want to comment on what politicians are saying but this has been the practice for centuries at temples such as Tarapith and Kamakshya (in Assam). The Goddess is worshipped in various forms. Followers of the Vaishnav way of life offer sweets and fruits. It all depends on the disciple,” Mukherjee said.

At the famous Dakshineswar temple near Kolkata, where the 19th century religious icon Ramakrishna Paramahamsh used to worship Kaali as the priest employed by Rani Rashmani, the Goddess is offered only fish since the practice of sacrificing goats stopped long ago.

Prasun Hazra, a former trustee of the Dakshineswar temple, said: “The Goddess is offered only fish these days because animal sacrifice stopped decades ago. We never offered alcohol at Dakshineswar. Ramakrishna Paramahamsh used to offer Maa Kaali coconut water. The tradition continues. Offerings vary from place to place, depending on tradition and religious practices.”

Among those who took to social media, Bengal Congress leader Ritzu Ghosal wrote a long piece on Facebook explaining the different forms of Kali as explained in Hindu scriptures. “More than 3,000 years old, Tantra is the oldest form of worship,” wrote Ghosal, adding that even the monks of the Ramakrishna Mission formed by Swami Vivekananda eat meat and fish.

The political row however continued as the development took place days after the Kolkata police issued lookout notice in the name of Nupur Sharma who cited risk to her life and sought time to appear in person at the Narkeldanga and Amherst Street police stations, where cased were registered against her after her controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad that triggered violent protests across the nation earlier this month.

Each of these police stations summoned Sharma twice. A lookout notice prevents a person from leaving the country.

The Bengal BJP sought to use Moitra’s comments to counter the police cases against Sharma.

Moitra, who tweeted on Tuesday that she did not say anything in support of the controversial movie poster or refer to the smoking it depicted, appeared unperturbed even as she was being trolled.

“Bring it on BJP! Am a Kali worshipper. I am not afraid of anything. Not your ignoramuses. Not your goons. Not your police. And most certainly not your trolls. Truth doesn’t need back up forces,” Moitra tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.

Referring to Nupur Sharma at the media conclave, Moitra said: “Let us not go into hurt-the-sentiments kind of things. Let us go into what is against the law. If someone has said something that is a direct incitement to violence, then of course she should be arrested. But there cannot be double standards.”