Madhya Pradesh Police on Wednesday registered an FIR against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra for her controversial comment on Goddess Kali. Moitra has been booked under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for hurting religious sentiments.
Sources said that the FIR was filed against Moitra after the chief minister objected to her comment. “Hindu religious sentiments have been hurt by Mahua Moitra’s statement and insult to Hindu deities will not be tolerated,” Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan after the FIR was registered against Moitra.
The Lok Sabha MP had on Tuesday made a controversial remark on Kali during the course of the India Today Conclave East 2022 held in Kolkata, which had seen participation from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and actor Rajkummar Rao.
Moitra made the remark when she was asked about the raging controversy over a poster of Kaali, a documentary film by Canada-based director Leena Manimekalai, in which Goddess Kali is shown smoking a cigarette and holding an LGBTQ+ flag. The poster created a storm on social media.
Commenting on the poster, the Krishnanagar MP had said that people have right to imagine their deities the way they want and worship them. Moitra went on to say, “For me, Goddess Kali is a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting Goddess. And if you go to Tarapith, you will see sadhus smoking. That is the version of Kali people worship. I, within Hinduism, being a Kali worshipper, have the right to imagine Kali in that way; that is my freedom.”
Lapping up her comment “Goddess Kali is a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting Goddess”, the BJP has gone hammer and tongs after the TMC leader, with West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar on Wednesday demanding her arrest.
As soon as it snowballed into a controversy, her party TMC distanced itself from her remark, even went on to condemn it. “The comments made by @MahuaMoitra at the #IndiaTodayConclaveEast2022 and her views expressed on Goddess Kali have been made in her personal capacity and are NOT ENDORSED BY THE PARTY in ANY MANNER OR FORM. All India Trinamool Congress strongly condemns such comments,” said the party on its official Twitter handle. This has given rise to speculation of rift between the MP and her party, as Moitra after the party tweet unfollowed the TMC Twitter handle.
Meanwhile, members of the BJP’s Mahila Morcha on Wednesday afternoon lodged a complaint with the police demanding Moitra’s arrest. Opposition leader Shuvendu Adhikari also claimed that complaints had been lodged against Moitra in 20 police stations across the state.
Reacting to the clamour for her arrest, Moitra in a series of tweets said, “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.”
Standing her ground, she clarified her position that she never backed any film or poster. “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,” she said in another tweet on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, referring to the controversy, Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi on Wednesday said, “We won’t like to comment on other parties, but I believe that balance must be maintained in symbols and essence of our faith. Heart and spirit of our culture cannot be trivialised by anybody anywhere be it elsewhere, abroad or here.” However, his party colleague Shashi Tharoor defended Moitra and called it a “malicious manufactured controversy”. Said Tharoor in a tweet, “I am no stranger to malicious manufactured controversy, but am still taken aback by the attack on Mahua Moitra for saying what every Hindu knows, that our forms of worship vary widely across the country. What devotees offer as bhog (offering) says more about them than about the Goddess.”