West Bengal: VHP Opposes Non-Veg Food Inside Durga Puja Pandals
VHP asks puja organisers to stick to norms, urged not to do distortion of Durga idol in garb of themes
Kolkata: The Vishva Hindu Parishad has criticised previous Durga Puja themes in which idols of the goddess were "distorted" and urged puja organisers here to adhere to traditional rituals so that religious sanctity is maintained during the five-day festivities, a functionary of the organisation said on Thursday. The VHP also appealed to community puja organisers to maintain a strict prohibition of non-vegetarian food inside pandals, he said.
The organisation held a meeting with major Durga Puja organisers and priests at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Salt Lake near here on Wednesday and laid down certain guidelines aimed at enforcing traditional customs, state VHP functionary Swarup Chatterjee said.
"During the meeting, we urged puja organisers to preserve the religious dignity and purity of Durga Puja, focusing strictly on Sanatani traditions. No distortion of Durga idols in the name of themes will be encouraged," he said.
The meeting was held for the first time after the BJP came to power in the state.
The VHP strongly criticised previous "themes in which idols were depicted as widows or distorted, and shoes and broken glasses were used in pandal artwork", he said.
"We maintain that idols of Goddess Durga and even the Asura must look like their original scriptural descriptions," the VHP functionary said.
"We have requested organisers to ensure a strict prohibition of non-vegetarian food inside the pandal premises. There are no objections to non-vegetarian stalls operating outside or near the pandals," he said.
Puja organisers and visitors were urged to avoid taking photos of the half-finished idols, he said.
To encourage compliance, the VHP announced that it would present special non-monetary awards to priests and committees that execute the puja strictly adhering to traditional norms.
Anjan Ukil, a functionary of the Forum for Durgotsav, a platform of community Durga Pujas, acknowledged the VHP's proposals, stating that most committees follow proper rituals.
He said that the VHP's recommendations would be placed and reviewed at the forum's meeting.
The forum consists of over 10,000 puja committees in Kolkata and neighbourhoods.
