Bihar verdict forces BJP to water down ‘Gomata Utsav’

The resounding defeat of BJP in the Bihar polls, the results of which were declared Sunday, took the sheen of the Utsav, which was supposed to be put up by members of party’s Cow Development Cell at the same place at Chowringhee in central Kolkata where the beef festival was carried out. However, the event was later shifted to another place about a kilometre away, near Yogayog Bhavan.

Subrata Gupta, state convenor of the Cow Development Cell, said, “We are organising this festival to raise awareness about the need for cow slaughter ban in the state”.

Incidentally, state BJP leadership instructed the organisers not to highlight the event much and also asked them to refrain from sporting the party flag. “We wanted to avoid any communal tension during this festive season and thus had asked not to put it up on a large scale,” said Ritesh Tewari, party’s state secretary.
About a dozen BJP activists had gathered for the event and distributed glasses of milk to passers-by.