Mahatma Gandhi depicted as ‘Mahisasura’ at All India Hindu Mahasabha Durga Puja Pandal; FIR lodged

way2barak, Oct.3: Organisers at a Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata’s Ruby by-pass provided a wig and a moustache to the ‘Mahisasura’ idol, which bore an uncanny resemblance to Mahatma Gandhi and stoked a controversy, prompting police to intervene after a complaint was filed. The Kolkata Police registered an FIR against the organisers of the All India Hindu Mahasabha Durga Puja.

West Bengal Congress leader Koustav Bagchi on Sunday made a complaint with the Kolkata Police to lodge a Zero FIR in connection with the matter. Bagchi said that portraying Gandhi as ‘asura’ is an “act of sedition” and had sought the immediate stop of the Puja.

However, changes were made to the idol of asura following the intervention of the Kolkata Police. Chandrachud Goswami, who is the organiser of the puja and also the state working president of the Hindu Mahasabha, admitted to portraying the asura as Mahatma Gandhi and said that they do not accept the “forceful” changes. Goswami denied calling Mahatma Gandhi as the father of the nation, and said that the organisation would “spread the word about Gandhi’s activities” among people in the future.

The police registered the case under sections 188 (disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant), 283 (causing danger or obstruction in any public way), 153 B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.