KOLKATA, INDIA, October 1, 2011 (Hindustan Times): For the first time in 35 years, West Bengal’s ministers have openly joined in organizing Durga Puja celebrations, unlike the previous leftist government whose members included avowed atheists. Though some fear this might lead to a misuse of the pujas or weaken secularism, the leaders say their involvement spreads a message of religious harmony.
Sports Minister Madan Mitra, who organizes the Agradut and Uday Sangha Puja at Bhowanipore, said the festival was more of a social and cultural event than a religious one.
Public health engineering minister Subrata Mukherjee, the guiding force of South Kolkata’s Ekdalia Evergreen Puja, said, “I have been attached with this puja since my childhood and being a minister does not make any difference. When it comes to the committee I am just an ordinary member.”