Politics, religious beliefs different things: TMC man who made 108-ft Ram portrait

The portrait, which was created on Jahar Udyan of Ward Number 9 of Kankinara-Bhatpar, took 10 days and around 100 other people to complete, says Priyangu, who is the vice-president of the District Transport Office and a TMC member himself.

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TMC leader Priyangu Pandey and his wife made the portrait with diyas. They said it took them 10 days to complete. (Express File Photo)

A 108-feet portrait of Ram and made of 8 lakh earthen lamps in North 24 Parganas’ Bhatpara town marks a religious tribute with political deviance. The portrait, which pays obeisance to the Ram Temple opening in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, was created by artist Priyangu Pandey and his wife Jyoti Pandey, who is the TMC councillor of Bhatpara Municipality Ward number 9.

Incidentally, TMC chief and West Bengal Mamata Banerjee had skipped the ‘pran partishtha’ ceremony of the temple on January 22 and had taken out an all-faith ‘Sanhati Yatra’ in Kolkata on the same day. During the rally, Banerjee was accompanied by the leaders of various faiths and visited a temple, masjid, gurdwara, and church along the way. She also accused the BJP of attempting to politicise religion ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and asked if the party was “anti-women” for “omitting” Goddess Sita from the discourse on Lord Ram.

The portrait, which was created on Jahar Udyan of Ward Number 9 of Kankinara-Bhatpar, took 10 days and around 100 other people to complete, says Priyangu, who is the vice-president of the District Transport Office and a TMC member himself.

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For Priyangu, religious beliefs and politics are “different things”. “Everyone worships Lord Ram. Everyone wants Ram Rajya. Ram-Rajya is the dream of every person. Religious beliefs and politics are two different things. Even though I am a Trinamool Congress leader, I will worship Ram,” he said.

Priyangu’s inspiration for the creation was a similar portrait by local artist Anil Kumar. Except Anil’s version was created with 14 lakh earthen lamps at the Saket Mahavidyalaya in Bhatpara. “I requested him to help me create a similar portrait. Kumar, his helpers and local residents were among the 100 people who helped us create the portrait,” said Priyangu.

The couple also said that they wanted to spread the message of ‘Ram Rajya’ in Bhatpara, which has seen its fair share of clashes.

A TMC leader said, “There is nothing wrong in worshipping Ram. What’s wrong is how BJP is politicising it. However, I am not aware what kind of arrangements of celebration was done by them (Priyangu and Jyoti). I hope the party is aware of it.”

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