New Delhi: Publicly slammed by her party for her remarks about Goddess Kali, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra found herself in further trouble Wednesday when the Madhya Pradesh Police registered a first information report (FIR) against her for allegedly hurting sentiments.
“To me, Goddess Kali is meat-eating, alcohol-accepting,” Moitra said at a forum in Kolkata when asked to comment on a controversial poster of a documentary that shows a woman dressed as the goddess and smoking.
FIR registered against TMC MP Mahua Moitra in Bhopal over her alleged controversial statement on Goddess Kali. Case registered under section 295A of IPC for hurting religious sentiments
(file pic) pic.twitter.com/yRydMr1iF2
— ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2022
She said: “If you go to Tarapith temple (in West Bengal’s Birbhum district) and around it, you will see sadhus smoking. That’s the version of Kali people worship. I, within Hinduism, being a Kali worshipper, have the freedom to imagine my Kali that way.”
She also said: “If you go to Bhutan or Sikkim, for example, when they do puja, they give whisky to their god. Now, if you go to Uttar Pradesh and say that you give whisky to your god as prasad, they will say that is blasphemous.”
Her party “strongly condemned” her comments, saying her views on Goddess Kali were made in a personal capacity and “not endorsed by the party in any manner or form”.
The party also said it was likely to caution her from making such comments in future.
Trinamool Congress leadership says it “in no way supports the comments” of party MP Mahua Moitra on Goddess Kali and is likely to caution her from making such statements in future
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 6, 2022
The BJP, on sticky wicket itself for Nupur Sharma’s Prophet Muhammad comments, was quick to take up the issue, with the West Bengal women’s unit set to approach the Kolkata Police for Moitra’s arrest.
A defiant Moitra later clarified on Twitter that she had never backed a film poster or mentioned “smoking”. She also said her words were distorted by trolls.
She launched into the BJP, tweeting: “To all you sanghis — lying will NOT make you better hindus. I NEVER backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking. Suggest you visit my Maa Kali in Tarapith to see what food & drink is offered as bhog. Joy Ma Tara.”
On Wednesday, she doubled down further, tweeting: “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, however, found a sympathetic voice in Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Wednesday, who said he was taken aback by the attack on her. He urged people to “lighten up and leave religion” to individuals to practise privately.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor says he is "taken aback by the attack" on TMC MP Mahua Moitra for her comments on Goddess Kali, urges people to "lighten up and leave religion" to individuals to practice privately
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 6, 2022
Tharoor’s compatriot Abhishek Manu Singhvi, however, differed. Sanghvi said people must be careful when they play with the emotions “which are reflected in such symbols, culture and faith”.
On Moitra’s remarks, he said: “We won’t like to comment on other parties, but I believe that balance must be maintained in symbols and the essence of our faith. Heart and spirit of our culture cannot be trivialised by anybody anywhere, be it elsewhere, abroad or here.”
Also read: BJP demands arrest of TMC MP Mahua Moitra for controversial remarks on Goddess Kali