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Bengal CM apologises for Durga ad with 11 hands
The Hindu··8 Sept
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari apologised after a state advertisement in September 7 newspapers showed Goddess Durga with 11 hands instead of 10. He said those responsible received a stern warning. BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya called it an agency error that would be rectified. Trinamool Congress and CPI(M) leaders called the depiction a cultural distortion.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Readers of several West Bengal newspapers saw the 11-hand Durga image in Monday editions.
- The Chief Minister said future government ads will face tighter checks.
- Opposition parties are using the error in Puja-season political messaging.
What's Happening
- Adhikari apologised at a Durga Puja coordination meeting on September 7 evening.
- Bhattacharya said the extra hand was a slip by the agency and is not a matter for politics.
- Trinamool MLA Kunal Ghosh noted the ad labelled Dashabhuja while showing eleven hands.
What the Ad Showed
- Dashabhuja refers to the ten-handed form of Durga in Bengali tradition.
- Trinamool's official social media called the mishandling an insult to Bengali culture.
- CPI(M) leader Shatarup Ghosh shared the ad image with satirical commentary on vegetarian Puja decrees.
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