Hours after the Calcutta High Court overturned the government order on Durga Puja immersions and instructed the police to make separate routes for both Durga idol immersion and Muharram processions, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that people can 'slit her throat' but not tell her what to do.
ANI tweeted Banerjee as saying:
Someone can slit my throat but no one can tell me what to do: WB CM Mamata Banerjee on Calcutta HC's verdict on Durga idols' immersion pic.twitter.com/162ZXvn9RB
— ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2017
Banerjee also said, "I will do what I can to keep peace."
The Bengal government had announced that immersion of Durga idols will be barred after 6 pm on September 30 and on 1 October, on the account of Muharram. The time was later extended to 10 p.m.
This was apparently to prevent law and order issues.
The Calcutta High Court however said, "Just because you are the state, can you pass arbitrary order? Prohibition means that you are taking the last step first."
"If you (State Government) get a dream, that something will go wrong, you cannot impose restrictions."
The court also said that Durga idol immersion can continue till 12 am on all days, including on Muharram.
While opposition parties in Bengal, including the BJP, had accused Banerjee of trying to appease one section of society, she had refuted these allegations.
She had said, "If this is appeasement, I shall continue to do so as long as I am alive. I will do it even if a gun is held to my head. I don't discriminate. That's the culture of Bengal, that's my culture."
(With inputs from ANI)