NEW DELHI: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday inaugurated the newly constructed Jagannath Dham Temple in the seaside town of Digha amid the backdrop of Murshidabad communal violence and BJP fire.
The Rs 250 crore temple project, envisaged by Banerjee in 2018 and built over 20 acres, was personally overseen by the chief minister who visited the site twice in the run-up to the inauguration, an unusual level of involvement that underscores the political weight of the event for the ruling Trinamool Congress.
"Religion is linked with the heart," Mamata said while performing rituals a day before the formal opening. On Wednesday, addressing a gathering of her ministers, party workers, and devotees, she reiterated: "I would like to thank all those who have come here for the inaugural programme. People from all religions have come here.”
The timing of the temple’s inauguration remains politically sensitive. It comes amid communal unrest in Murshidabad following the passage of the waqf amendment bill, which triggered violence that reportedly displaced several Hindu families. The BJP has accused the TMC government of minority appeasement and failing to protect Hindus in the region.
And with the temple inauguration, the BJP is trying to further corner the TMC government.
Leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari escalated the rhetoric, branding Mamata a "fake Hindu" and accusing her of using religion as a political prop. “Hindus build their temples through devotion, not taxpayer money. Mamata Banerjee is anti-Hindu. The Hindus of Murshidabad are being driven out under her watch,” he declared.
TMC leaders pushed back hard. Senior MP Kalyan Banerjee lambasted the BJP's definition of Hinduism: “"Is he a real Hindu? According to the BJP's Hinduism, all the Hindus of West Bengal who follow the Hindus of Gujarat, the Hindus of Uttar Pradesh, eat veg and say Jai Shree Ram are Santani Hindus. According to them, any Hindu who says 'Jai Shri Ram' is a Hindu," Kalyan Banerjee said.
Even as the temple doors opened to devotees, BJP leaders continued their symbolic assault. Adhikari claimed the structure was a “cultural center,” not a legitimate Hindu temple, since it was funded by the state. “We have to go to court to celebrate any Hindu festival here in West Bengal... The CM is inaugurating the Shri Jagannath Dham Cultural Centre, and not a temple. Hindu temples are never built by using government money but by the contribution of Hindus, just like the Ram temple was built in Ayodhya... We don't consider Mamata Banerjee as a Hindu," he said.
BJP’s central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya also loaded message on inauguration linking it to the devastating fire at a hotel in Kolkata. “First, the devastating Kalbaisakhi storm wreaked havoc in Digha on April 26 and now the fire just before the inauguration of Mamata Banerjee’s Jagannath Temple on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. Is it that the people of West Bengal are now bearing the consequences of Mamata Banerjee’s audacious and irreverent attempt to rival Puri’s sacred Jagannath Dham, the divine abode of Prabhu Jagannath and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu? Prabhu Jagannath does not reside where falsehood, fraud, and selfishness reign. This should be understood as His message,” Malviya posted on X.
As the political war over faith and identity intensifies, Mamata Banerjee’s temple gamble signals a calibrated attempt to blunt BJP’s Hindutva edge and present herself as a devout yet inclusive leader, setting the stage for a high-voltage war in Bengal's 2026 electoral battleground.
The Rs 250 crore temple project, envisaged by Banerjee in 2018 and built over 20 acres, was personally overseen by the chief minister who visited the site twice in the run-up to the inauguration, an unusual level of involvement that underscores the political weight of the event for the ruling Trinamool Congress.
"Religion is linked with the heart," Mamata said while performing rituals a day before the formal opening. On Wednesday, addressing a gathering of her ministers, party workers, and devotees, she reiterated: "I would like to thank all those who have come here for the inaugural programme. People from all religions have come here.”
The timing of the temple’s inauguration remains politically sensitive. It comes amid communal unrest in Murshidabad following the passage of the waqf amendment bill, which triggered violence that reportedly displaced several Hindu families. The BJP has accused the TMC government of minority appeasement and failing to protect Hindus in the region.
And with the temple inauguration, the BJP is trying to further corner the TMC government.
Leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari escalated the rhetoric, branding Mamata a "fake Hindu" and accusing her of using religion as a political prop. “Hindus build their temples through devotion, not taxpayer money. Mamata Banerjee is anti-Hindu. The Hindus of Murshidabad are being driven out under her watch,” he declared.
TMC leaders pushed back hard. Senior MP Kalyan Banerjee lambasted the BJP's definition of Hinduism: “"Is he a real Hindu? According to the BJP's Hinduism, all the Hindus of West Bengal who follow the Hindus of Gujarat, the Hindus of Uttar Pradesh, eat veg and say Jai Shree Ram are Santani Hindus. According to them, any Hindu who says 'Jai Shri Ram' is a Hindu," Kalyan Banerjee said.
Even as the temple doors opened to devotees, BJP leaders continued their symbolic assault. Adhikari claimed the structure was a “cultural center,” not a legitimate Hindu temple, since it was funded by the state. “We have to go to court to celebrate any Hindu festival here in West Bengal... The CM is inaugurating the Shri Jagannath Dham Cultural Centre, and not a temple. Hindu temples are never built by using government money but by the contribution of Hindus, just like the Ram temple was built in Ayodhya... We don't consider Mamata Banerjee as a Hindu," he said.
BJP’s central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya also loaded message on inauguration linking it to the devastating fire at a hotel in Kolkata. “First, the devastating Kalbaisakhi storm wreaked havoc in Digha on April 26 and now the fire just before the inauguration of Mamata Banerjee’s Jagannath Temple on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. Is it that the people of West Bengal are now bearing the consequences of Mamata Banerjee’s audacious and irreverent attempt to rival Puri’s sacred Jagannath Dham, the divine abode of Prabhu Jagannath and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu? Prabhu Jagannath does not reside where falsehood, fraud, and selfishness reign. This should be understood as His message,” Malviya posted on X.
As the political war over faith and identity intensifies, Mamata Banerjee’s temple gamble signals a calibrated attempt to blunt BJP’s Hindutva edge and present herself as a devout yet inclusive leader, setting the stage for a high-voltage war in Bengal's 2026 electoral battleground.
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