Kolkata. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday offered prayers at the historic Thantania Kalibari temple before starting his road show in north Kolkata. This temple is famous for its unique tradition of offering non-vegetarian offerings. Thantania Kalibari is one of the most ancient and revered Kali temples of Kolkata. It was founded in 1703 and its 300-year-old history predates the formal development of the city. Kali Maa is worshiped as Maa Siddheshwari and the main goddess is considered ‘Jagrat’. It is said that Ramakrishna Paramahamsa often visited the temple and sang devotional songs for Maa Siddheshwari.
Why are temples famous?
Inside the temple, the ‘Bani’ said by him is engraved on its walls, which means ‘Shankarer Hridaya Majhe, Kali Biraje’ (Mother Kali resides in the heart of Shankar). This is one of the few Kali temples in India where non-vegetarian offerings are made to the goddess. This practice of offering non-vegetarian offerings was started by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He worshiped Mother Siddheshwari and offered ‘Dab-Chingari’ to her and prayed for the speedy recovery of Brahmanand Keshav Chandra Sen. Since that day, the tradition of offering non-vegetarian food as Prasad has been going on. When Ramakrishnadev fell ill during his stay at Shyampukur, his followers prayed to Maa Siddeshwari at the temple for his speedy recovery and offered non-vegetarian offerings to the goddess.
What allegations did Mamata Banerjee make?
Let us tell you that Trinamool Congress leaders including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have alleged that if the Bharatiya Janata Party comes to power, it can interfere in the food culture of the state. He pointed to the restrictions imposed on the sale of fish and meat during certain festivals in some NDA-ruled states like Bihar and Gujarat. Banerjee has said that such measures show a lack of understanding of Bengal’s cultural identity.
BJP refutes the allegations?
BJP has rejected these claims. State President Samik Bhattacharya and Union Minister Sukant Majumdar said that there is no plan to ban non-vegetarian food and people’s food choices will be respected. BJP leader and Nagaland minister Temjen Imna Along also reacted to the controversy. Sharing a video of herself eating non-vegetarian dishes, she wrote, “Mamata Didi, I am in BJP and am a non-vegetarian by passion.
“PM Modi claimed massive victory of BJP in Bengal.
Voting for the second phase in West Bengal will take place on April 29. Election campaign of political parties continues for the second phase. Similarly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Vijay Sankalp Sabha in Bengal. During this period, TMC and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee remained the target of PM Modi. PM Modi claimed that after the first phase of voting, it has become clear that BJP is going to register a massive victory in Bengal. Read the full news…
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