On Ashtami afternoon, Trinamool's All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee visited two puja pandals in Dum Dum. The Diamond Harbour MP usually maintains a distance from puja inaugurations. Earlier in the day, he had extended Maha Ashtami greetings to the state's residents. In the afternoon, he went to see the Durga Puja of J'pur Joyshree in Dum Dum Nagerbazar and Ashwininagar Bandhu Mahal Durga Puja in Baguiati. The MP was also spotted enjoying fuchka outside the Nagerbazar puja pandal.
For several months leading up to the puja, state politics has been abuzz with incidents of harassment and oppression of Bengali migrant workers in other states. The Nagerbazar J'pur Joyshree Durga Puja has highlighted this issue as their theme. On Ashtami, 11 migrant workers were present at this pandal. Abhishek met with them, and they were presented with some puja gifts.
Saddam Molla had gone to work in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. He alleges that he was harassed for speaking in Bengali. He returned to Bengal just a few days ago, abandoning his job. Saddam says, "Several of us had gone for work. We were beaten for speaking in Bengali, and one person had a knife thrust at his throat. Since then, I've been afraid to go back to work." What did Abhishek say? Saddam reports, "He listened to our stories. He advised against returning to work immediately. He assured us that some arrangement would be made here in Bengal."
Outside the pandal, Abhishek was seen in quite a jovial mood. He was spotted enjoying fuchka with his daughter Azania. Accompanying Abhishek were Dum Dum MP Sougata Roy, MP Partha Bhowmik, and Councillor Aditi Munshi.
After inspecting the Joyshree Durga Puja pandal, Abhishek went to the Ashwininagar Bandhu Mahal Puja in Baguiati. This puja committee has constructed their pandal on the theme of 'Bengal and Bengalis'. However, the Trinamool MP refrained from making any statements to the media on this day.
