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On Mahua Moitra, TMC MP says party will decide on action at ‘appropriate’ time
TMC veteran Saugata Roy reiterated the party's stand, saying it respects all religions and does not want to get into “religious controversies”.
Amid a massive controversy over Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra's comments on Goddess Kali, party colleague Saugata Roy on Thursday said a decision is yet to be taken on whether disciplinary action will be initiated against her and it will be done at an appropriate time.
“We have not taken any decision regarding taking disciplinary action. The party's still considering and will make a decision at an appropriate time,” Roy was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Further, the TMC veteran reiterated the party's stand on Moitra's comments, saying it does not approve of them. “The TMC has respect for all religions and (the) party does not want to get into religious controversies. That's our party's statement in all religious matters,” Roy said.
His comments come hours after TMC supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said “people make mistakes but they can be rectified”.
“Some people don't see all the good work and suddenly start shouting... Negativity affects our brain cells so let's think positively,” Mamata said while addressing a students' credit cards distribution event in Kolkata. She, however, did not take Moitra's name.
Moitra has come under fire, including facing a series of complaints, after she said that to her, Goddess Kali is a “meat-loving, liquor-accepting goddess”. The MP made the comment at a media event when asked about the controversy over a poster of the movie, ‘Kaali’, where the deity has been shown smoking a cigarette along with a flag of the LGBTQ community.
The TMC quickly distanced itself from Moitra's remarks, saying they were not “endorsed by the party in any manner of form”.
Besides a couple of complaints in Bengal, an FIR has been lodged in Bhopal against Moitra for hurting religious sentiments. Madhya Pradesh chief minister and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Hindu religious sentiments have been hurt by the TMC MP's remarks and that insult to deities will not be tolerated at any cost.
Moitra has hit back at the BJP challenging its leaders to prove whatever she said is wrong.
