Mahua Moitra amid Kaali row: ‘Can Assam CM explain what offerings made in Kamakhya?'
Trinamool Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra said BJP is not the custodian of the Hindu religion and neither Lord Ram nor Lord Hanuman belongs to the BJP solely. The party has also no right to teach Bengalis how to worship Goddess Kaali, she said.
Trinamool Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra, embroiled in a controversy over her comment on Goddess Kaali, asked whether Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma can explain in writing what offerings are made to the presiding deity of the KBJPamakhya temple. "Can the CMs of other BJP-ruled states do the same about offerings made to Maa Kali in temples there? Is liquor not part of the offerings in these temples? BJP desperately wants to pin me down as I fiercely protest its misdeeds but I know its strategy won't work," the Trinamool leader said while speaking to a Bengali news channel, as news agency PTI reported. Also Read: 'Mistakes can be rectified': Mamata amid row over Mahua Moitra 'Kali' remark
“I challenge the respective BJP governments of these states, where FIRs have been registered, to give in writing in an affidavit to the court about offerings made to Goddess Kaali,” Mahua Moitra said.
“Even my mom is saying that you have not said anything wrong but what is the need of saying all these? I would say yes, there is a need of saying this because otherwise, BJP is imposing its North Indian Hindutva on us,” the Trinamool MP said asserting that she has not hurt any sentiment.
Mahua Moitra said she has acted like a mature politician on the issue and she believes that the BJP is not the custodian of Hindu deities and nor should the party teach Bengalis how to worship Goddess Kaali.
"I think I acted as a mature politician. For long, we had avoided the issue of BJP imposing its own version of Hinduism, which is based on established norms of North India. The party should desist from imposing it on people of other parts of the country such as West Bengal where Hindus follow their well-established rituals for centuries. Who is the BJP to teach us how to conduct puja of Goddess Kali in a particular way?" Mahua Moitra said.
"Neither Lord Ram nor Lord Hanuman solely belongs to the BJP. Has the party taken the lease of Hindu dharma?" Mahua added.
The controversy started when Mahua Moitra at India Today Media Conclave said that to her, Kaali was a meat-loving, liquor-accepting goddess. The comment invited massive backlash with many complaints and FIRs filed against Mahua in West Bengal and outside. As the controversy took a political turn with the BJP demanding action against Mahua, the Trinamool Congress distanced itself from Mahua's comments and publicly condemned it.
The Trinamool leader has not withdrawn her words and asserted that what she said is how Goddess Kaali is worshipped in West Bengal's Tarapith -- a major Shaktipeeth. She also clarified that her comments were not in the context of the controversial poster of the documentary film of Leena Manimekalai which shows a woman dressed as Goddess Kaali smoking.
'I know how to worship Kaali'
In the interview, Mahua Moitra said she is a Kaali devotee and knows how to worship the goddess. "We had been worshipping the goddess in the same way for the past 2,000 years. BJP is a party of outsiders that tries to impose its Hindutva politics but was snubbed by the electorate. Being a Kaali bhakt, I know how to worship Kaali," she said.
On unfollowing TMC's Twitter handle
In the wake of the controversy, Mahua Moitra unfollowed the Twitter account of the Trinamool Congress after the party issued a statement condemning her statement. On being asked about the issue, Mahua Moitra said, "I am a loyal soldier of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. If there is any issue, we will get it resolved within the party. We will not discuss it in public."
(With PTI inputs)
