Among heavy criticism of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's remarks on Prayagraj's Mahakumbh, Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati Maharaj on Wednesday supported the CM, saying that the religious event has been mismanaged.
"There was a traffic jam of 300 kilometres, if this is not mismanagement then what is? People had to walk 25-30 km with their luggage. The water coming for bathing is mixed with sewage water and the scientists don't consider it fit for bathing. Yet you are forcing crores of people to bathe in it," the spiritual leader told ANI.
He was referring to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) report of January 12-13, which said that the river quality did not meet the bathing criteria for most locations.
"Your job was to either stop the drains for a few days or divert them so that people could get pure water while bathing. You knew 12 years ago that Kumbh would come, then why did you not make any efforts in this regard?" the leader questioned.
Talking about the Mahakumbh stampede at Mauni Amavasya, he alleged that the government also tried to hide the total number of deaths.
"Crowd management and hospitality principles were not followed. Even when people died, they tried to hide it, which was a grave crime. In such a situation, if someone calls it names, then we won't be able to oppose it," he added.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party held protests in West Bengal, asserting that the CM's remark is an insult to Hindus.
The BJP's demonstration, organised by the party's state and district units, took place near Chittaranjan Avenue in central Kolkata during the day.
BJP state president Dr Sukanta Majumdar condemned the remark, accusing Banerjee of insulting Hindus and their religious beliefs.
"This is an offensive and disrespectful comment about one of the holiest events of the Hindus," Majumdar said.
He also called for nationwide protests and demanded action from state Governor Dr CV Ananda Bose.
'We have written to the Governor, urging him to take immediate action against the chief minister for her remarks,' Majumdar posted on X, sharing a copy of the letter to Raj Bhavan.
Majumdar also criticised Banerjee's statement as 'extremely insensitive and aggressive', calling for her remark to be expunged from the legislative records and demanding a public apology from the chief minister.
"The people of West Bengal and Hindus across the country deserve an apology for this blatant insult," he added.
-- with inputs from PTI
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