BJP Leader Suvendu Adhikari Takes Part in Kolkata Rath Yatra, ISKCON to Run Mid-Day Meals
Kolkata, July 16: Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, participated in the 55th annual Rath Yatra organised by ISKCON in Kolkata on Thursday. The event saw several other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders joining festivities across the state.
Mr. Adhikari joined ISKCON devotees on Albert Road to mark the celebrations. He took part in the ritual of pulling the rope of the Jagannath chariot, a key tradition of the festival. Later in the day, he attended Rath Yatra events in Tamluk and Mecheda in Purba Medinipur district.
Speaking at the Tamluk event, Mr. Adhikari said his participation as a devotee was separate from his political identity. “I am grateful to inaugurate the ISKCON Rath Yatra in Kolkata which lakhs of devotees wait for,” he added.
Other senior BJP leaders, including state minister Dilip Ghosh and party state president Samik Bhattacharya, also participated in multiple Rath Yatra celebrations across West Bengal.
The state government, led by the Trinamool Congress (TMC), has extended financial support to Rath Yatra organisers, providing ₹5 lakh each to 60 organisers for repair work. Mr. Adhikari said, “This is for repair work. There are many old Rath Yatras who do not have money for repairs.”
Former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had earlier participated in Rath Yatra festivities and commissioned a Jagannath Temple in Digha that resembles the Puri temple, also extended greetings via a video message on social media on Thursday evening. The Digha temple continues to draw large crowds.
On the same day, several community Durga Puja committees in Kolkata performed “khuti puja,” marking the start of pandal construction for the October festival.
Mr. Adhikari also announced that ISKCON has been entrusted with preparing mid-day meals for government schools in Kolkata, starting August 1, with a plan to extend to Nadia district later. He stated, “The objective is not merely to provide food but to ensure proper nutrition for children. Students depend on this scheme come from middle-class, lower middle-class and economically weaker families. Nutritious food is essential to address malnutrition.” He claimed that the program would have no scope for corruption, which he alleged was prevalent under the previous government.
The transition of mid-day meal responsibilities to ISKCON has been challenged in the Calcutta High Court through a public interest litigation, particularly over the removal of eggs from meals and introduction of vegetarian-only options. During a hearing on July 8, the state government’s counsel stated that no official notification regarding the shift had been issued.
