Kolkata, Dec 29 (NationPress) As the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, prepares to unveil the “Durga Angan”, a temple dedicated to Goddess Durga located in New Town on the outskirts of Kolkata, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has criticized the project as a further instance of what they label her appeasement politics.

Amit Malviya, the head of BJP's Information Technology Cell and the party’s central observer for West Bengal, took to social media on Monday to express his views, suggesting that after the recent turmoil surrounding an event at Salt Lake Stadium featuring Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, the Chief Minister now aims to “taint the image of Goddess Durga”.

“Following the controversy of the Messi event, Mamata Banerjee has diverted her attention towards undermining the sanctity of Maa Durga. Her so-called Durga Angan initiative is riddled with appeasement and deception, which defines her political strategy. It belittles the faith of Bengali Hindus, turning genuine devotion into a mere tactic for managing vote banks,” Malviya asserted in his post.

Malviya further alleged that local Muslim residents had protested against the original site in New Town, asserting that the land was acquired from Muslims and remains “Muslim-origin land”.

He claimed that after the protests, the Chief Minister panicked and abruptly ceased the leveling work, despite contracts already being awarded to contractors linked to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) under what he describes as familiar “cash-back arrangements”.

“Almost Rs 10 crore has already been spent, yet there's nothing to show for it. A new site has been hastily selected. This land was initially designated for industrial projects. With no industry developing there, the land has conveniently been appropriated. We have been informed that no official land-use conversion or alteration of the master plan has occurred,” Malviya stated.

According to him, to safeguard what he termed a dedicated vote bank and to appease a minority group, the state government was compelled to shift the site of the ‘Durga Angan’ at the last moment, despite the fact that preparations for the foundation-laying ceremony were already well underway.

“As per the initial announcement, the Durga Angan was to be constructed on a Health Department-owned plot on Biswa Bangla Sarani in New Town, across from the Westin Hotel and near Eco Park. Preparations had been in progress for over two months. Tenders were issued, and earth-filling work worth approximately Rs 4 crore had already been carried out by companies associated with the TMC,” Malviya noted.

He also alleged that a work order issued by the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) on October 17 showed that contracts were granted to Muskan Enterprise and MM Enterprise for earth-filling work near Bander Mor in New Town.

“Official documents clearly indicate that, through the tender process, work was sanctioned to elevate ground levels in Zone-4 and Zone-5. Concurrently, preparations were in progress at the same site to set up a massive stage for the foundation-laying ceremony. Yet, the site was abruptly abandoned. The government hastily relocated the foundation stone to a new area following objections from families and members of the local minority community, questioning the use of public funds for constructing a Hindu religious structure on land they occupy,” Malviya added.

He criticized what he termed governance driven by panic, where appeasement outweighs planning, resulting in the waste of crores of public funds for political expediency at the expense of faith, transparency, and public trust.