The row over Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra’s comment on Goddess Kali intensified on Wednesday with a first information report (FIR) being registered against her in Bhopal for allegedly “outraging religious feelings”.
The Crime Branch of the Madhya Pradesh police has registered an FIR against the MP under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (outraging religious feelings), an official said in Bhopal.
“Ms. Moitra’s statement has hurt the religious feelings of Hindus. We will not tolerate disrespect to any Hindu gods and goddesses at any cost,” Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in a statement.
Also read: FIR against TMC MP Mahua Moitra in Madhya Pradesh for remark about Goddess Kaali
The FIR was registered on the complaint of a local tea seller, the police said.
However, the MP, in a series of tweets, said she was not afraid of anything.
Earlier in the day, Bengal BJP unit Mahila Morcha president Tanuja Chakraborty filed a complaint against the MP at Kolkata’s Bowbazar police station.
“Bring it on BJP! Am a Kaali 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,” Ms. Moitra tweeted. In another tweet, she added, “The goddess Bengalis worship is fearless & non-appeasing”.
Ms. Moitra, while participating in a conclave arranged by a media house in Kolkata on Tuesday had pointed out a “version of the Goddess” to which her party immediately reacted by not only distancing itself from the remark but also condemning it. “Kaali to me is meat eating... Alcohol accepting Goddess. To me, that is a version of Kaali,” Ms. Moitra said.
On Wednesday, Trinamool spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sukhendu Sekar Ray reiterated the party line. He said the party had emphatically said on Tuesday that the remark by Ms. Moitra was in her personal capacity and the party condemned it. “At the same time the party feels the way goddess Kaali has been depicted in a film poster outside India, smoking a cigarette, that is also deplorable and we condemn it,” the Trinamool spokesperson said.
A number of BJP leaders, including party’s State president Sukanta Majumdar and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, have criticised Ms. Moitra and demanded her arrest. BJP Mahila Morcha supporters also held protests against the Trinamool MP in the city.
(With PTI inputs)
