Thousands of people participated in a Bhagavad Gita chanting event at the Brigade Parade Grounds here on Sunday, touted as “great success” of the West Bengal BJP leadership.
Sharada Peeth Dwarka’s Shankaracharya Sadanand Saraswati presided over the event ‘Lokkho Konthe Gita Path (Gita chanting by one lakh people)’.
Truly laudable: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the event. “It is pleasing to hear about ‘Lokkho Kanthe Gita Path’… The initiative aimed at the recitation of the Gita by one lakh people is truly laudable,” he said on social media.
“Our cultural heritage is an amalgamation of lofty traditions, profound knowledge and philosophical-spiritual wisdom. Inclusivity, cultural diversity and harmony are our inherent strengths. From the times of Mahabharat to our freedom movement, down to the present day, Srimad Bhagavad Gita continues to inspire one and all,” Mr. Modi wrote in the message.
The organisers had earlier claimed that the Prime Minister would attend the event, and posters to that effect were put up at different places in Kolkata. Later, the organisers said Mr. Modi will not be able to attend the event.
The Prime Minister, in his message, also added that he was “positive that the recitation of Srimad Bhagavad Gita by such a huge gathering of people who have come together from different walks of life will not only boost social harmony, but also infuse energy in our nation’s development journey”.
Among the BJP leaders who participated in the event were the Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, State BJP president Sukanata Majumdar and MPs Saumitra Khan, S.S. Ahluwalia, Swapan Dasgupta, among others.
Describing the event as a grand success, Mr. Adhikari said it marked the “awakening of Hindus”. The BJP leader accused the West Bengal government of being “anti-Hindu” for holding the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) on the same day.
In a post on social media, he said: “The extraordinary initiative aimed at mass recitation of Bhagavad Gita by a record one lakh devotees was successfully organised by the Sanatan Sanskriti Sansad, Motilal Bharat Tirtha Seba Mission Ashram and Akhil Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad. I feel blessed to be the one voice among the 1 lakh voices that chanted Bhagavad Gita together.”
According to organisers, there were 20 blocks at the Brigade Parade Grounds and each block had 5,000 people. A large number of seers clad in saffron were present along with common people.
The Trinamool Congress leadership said the event did not attract large crowds. “If the assembly was about 3,750 people, the organisers could have held the event at Shradhananda Park (a small venue) rather than Brigade Parade Grounds,” Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.
In the past, the Trinamool Congress leadership had organised similar Gita chanting events in some other parts of the State. Earlier this month, Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee organised Gita chanting at Sreerampore in Hooghly district.
Political observers have described such events as “competitive communalism” between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP.
