Taking many by surprise and even a section of his party leaders, senior BJP leader and former state unit chief Dilip Ghosh on Wednesday evening reached Digha to attend the inauguration of Jagannath Dham, a project close to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Ghosh, who was accompanied by his newly wed wife Rinku Majumdar, also met the TMC supremo on the sidelines of the event.
While the TMC government had also invited state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, the two BJP leaders chose to skip the event.
At the temple, Ghosh and his wife were welcomed by TMC minister Aroop Biswas, who he described as a friend.
On meeting Mamata, Ghosh noted a “Hindu awakening” in the chief minister’s recent activities, stating, “There are many programs for Hindu awakening on the day of Akshaya Tritiya. The establishment of temples is also a work of Hindu awakening.”
“Puri’s Jagannath has travelled 350 kilometers and has come to Bengal. We have come to get a glimpse of him. We consider ourselves fortunate. It’s good to see that people are awakening. Whoever God thinks is good, He chooses hands for devotion. The chief minister has done this beautifully. We got the opportunity to get a glimpse of it,” Ghosh said.
Regarding his interaction with Aroop Biswas, TMC Minister Ghosh said, “He is my friend.”
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“No one can oppose God, and no one has a fight with God. This is a government program. The chief secretary and the HIDCO vice-president invited me. As a government representative, Aroop Biswas, who is a friend, came to welcome me. If the Chief Minister wants and calls us, we will surely meet,” Ghosh added.
The former BJP MP and his wife offered prayers at the temple. “We should keep all the differences outside before entering these premises. There is no difference between two human beings here,” Ghosh told reporters after meeting the CM.
In a Facebook post, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh wrote: “After offering puja at the inaugurated Jagannath temple in Digha, Dilip Ghosh and his wife met as a courtesy with the Chief Minister. He was impressed by the temple’s grandeur. He garlanded his wife again in front of the Lord. His wife bowed down to Dilip Babu.”
Ghosh, however, skipped a programme organised by Adhikari to counter the inauguration of Digha’s Jagannath Temple, and said: “Nobody invited me there. I was invited to Digha. I was also invited to Shyampur. That’s why I went.”
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Meanwhile, BJP MP Saumitra Khan hit out at Ghosh. “You are an example of how one tyagi becomes a bhogi. He drove away Babul Supriyo and Mukul Roy. Now, he is following their path. You are the shame of Bengal BJP,” Khan said.
