Balurghat (WB), Sep 2 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday said the state government would organise a grand event on Mahalaya, observed before the start of Durga Puja, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Union Home Minister Amit Shah would be invited to the programme.
This is the first time that Durga Puja would be celebrated with the BJP in power in the state. Mahalaya is on October 10 this year.
“There will be a big programme on Mahalaya. The prime minister and the Union home minister will be invited. We will let you know who is coming and when they are coming once we receive a confirmation from their side,” Adhikari told reporters after inspecting the Balurghat airport in Dakshin Dinajpur district.
According to him, the airport would become operational within a year.
According to a senior bureaucrat, the proposed Mahalaya event is likely to be held in Kolkata with the chief minister and senior members of his council of ministers in attendance.
The Information and Cultural Affairs department has reportedly started the process of inviting tenders for arrangements for the programme.
The event, he said, is expected to showcase the history of Durga Puja in West Bengal and the state’s folk culture, besides featuring performances including dhunuchi dance, Chhau dance.
Incidentally, the BJP’s central leadership has, in recent months, sought to emphasise its engagement with Bengali culture. In July last year, PM Modi raised the “Jai Ma Kali, Jai Ma Durga” chant at a public meeting in Durgapur.
He has also spoken about Kolkata’s Durga Puja in his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme, noting that the festival had received UNESCO’s recognition as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity through efforts by the Government of India.
Last year, PM Modi had also visited a Durga Puja celebration in Chittaranjan Park, a Bengali-dominated neighbourhood of New Delhi. PTI SCH NSD
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.