As Mamata Banerjee preps for Jagannath Temple inauguration in Bengal's Digha, BJP takes a swipe

KOLKATA: As West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee participated in a mahayajna ahead of the formal inauguration of a Jagannath Temple in East Midnapore district, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attacked her outreach to Hindus and announced its plan to start a campaign to repair temples in the state’s Murshidabad.

The yagya, a traditional fire ritual, was held on Tuesday and the idols of the deities will be consecrated on Wednesday.

“This (Jagannath Temple in Digha) will become an international destination of tourism. It is the pride of Bengal and the country. It has beautiful architecture. Servitors from Jagannath Temple in Puri and priests and monks from various other temples and organisations, including Dakshineshwar Kali Temple and ISKCON, have come,” Banerjee told reporters in Digha.

The newly-built Jagannath Temple, a replica of the 12th-century shrine in Puri, is scheduled to be inaugurated on April 30 on the auspicious occasion of the ‘Akshay Trithiya’. It is located in Digha, a popular beach destination 200 km southeast of Kolkata. The temple has been built on 24 acres of land using red sandstone quarried from Bansi Paharpur in Rajasthan.

Banerjee said the programme will start at 2:30pm on Wednesday and the doors will open at 3:00 pm. “After that, the temple will be opened to the general public. People from every religion can visit the temple,” Banerjee said on Tuesday, according to news agency ANI.

She declined to comment on the BJP’s criticism. Or the plan announced by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari to rebuild temples in Murshidabad district, where the party won 2 of the 76 assembly seats in 2021. The remaining 74 are with the ruling Trinamool Congress. The TMC controls all three Lok Sabha seats in Murshidabad.

Communal violence rocked the Jangipur subdivision of Murshidabad from April 8 to 12 when protests against the newly enforced Waqf (Amendment) Act led to rioting. The violence claimed three lives. Haragobindo Das, 72, and his son Chandan Das, 40, were hacked to death by a mob at Jafrabad village in Samserganj. The third person, Ezaz Ahmed, 25, was killed in firing by security forces.

BJP legislator and leader of the opposition in the assembly Suvendu Adhikari said the BJP would start work on renovation and repair of temples damaged during riots in Murshidabad on Wednesday. “As promised, on 30th April 2025, i.e tomorrow, on the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya, we will begin the process of rebuilding and renovating the Hindu temples damaged by the jihadist attacks in Murshidabad district,” Adhikari, said in a post on X on Tuesday.

BJP legislator Agnimitra Paul said the chief minister was trying to mislead people.

“There is only one Jagannath Temple and that is in Puri. She is trying to fool the Hindus saying that this is Jagannath Dham. On paper it is being shown as a cultural centre. This is her vote bank politics. No government can construct a temple, a mosque or a gurudwara. Hindus were hacked during Murshidabad riots and their houses and shops were set on fire. Banerjee didn’t have the time to visit the relief camps where the affected Hindu families were staying. Now she is making a skywalk to Kalighat Temple and inaugurating a temple in Digha,” Paul said.

TMC state spokesperson Debangshu Bhattacharya hit back at the BJP.

“The BJP had become anti-Bengal while opposing Mamata Banerjee. Now they have become anti-Jagannath Dev. Trains to Digha have been cancelled. They are calling the Jagannath Dham, a cultural centre. They want Hindus to follow a certain path. According to the BJP one can’t become a Hindu if he worships the deity of his choice. Bengal will not accept this,” said