As Durga Puja festivities grip the city, politicians are not left far behind in welcoming the 'Goddess of power' with one donning the priest's mantle, while others utilising it for making public contact.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will turn into a priest tomorrow to worship the Goddess at his ancestral village Miriti near Kirnahar in Birbhum district, in keeping with his family tradition. Puja is a time to “make public contact” for Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee, who has been busy inaugurating puja pandals across the city, said, “I make public contact while visiting pandals.” Echoing the same view, CPI(M) leader Robin Deb said, “The festival gives me an opportunity to be in touch with the people.” For Forward Bloc All India General Secretary Debabrata Biswas, the four-day festival is a “break from politics”.
“Every year, I take part in the century-old puja at my village in Belmuria gram panchayat in Hooghly district. I meet my schoolmates and spend time in ‘adda’. It is a break from politics,” he said. Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee prefers to spend his puja quietly -- listening to Bengali melodies at his Goalpara residence in Bolpur (Santiniketan).
