Credit war erupts over UNSESCO Heritage tag for Bengal’s Durga Puja, TMC rejects PM Modi’s claim

The Trinamool Congress leadership on Monday rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that the UNESCO Heritage status for West Bengal’s Durga Puja was a result of the Union government’s initiatives.

The Prime Minister made this claim during his “Mann Ki Baat” broadcast on Sunday.

Sharply reacting to his, West Bengal’s Minister of State in-charge of Finance (Independent Charge) Chandrima Bhattacharya said on Monday that although the state’s Durga Puja was awarded the UNESCO Heritage tag in 2021, this is the first time the Prime Minister has claimed credit for the achievement.

“Is this part of the party’s campaign for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections? Such a strategy will not succeed. The people of West Bengal are well aware that the credit for promoting Durga Puja on the international stage belongs to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,” Bhattacharya stated.

Trinamool Congress state general secretary Kunal Ghosh stated that neither the former Left Front government in West Bengal nor the present Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government can claim credit for the UNESCO Heritage tag.

The entire paperwork for this recognition was completed by the state government, he said.

“After Mamata Banerjee became Chief Minister of West Bengal, she gave special emphasis on Durga Puja to ensure the festival was promoted on the global platform. Therefore, the entire credit for this international recognition belongs to her and the state government led by her,” Ghosh asserted.

The state BJP leadership, however, contended that the credit for West Bengal’s Durga Puja receiving the UNESCO Heritage tag should go to researcher Tapati Guha Thakurta for her extensive work on the festival.

“It was the Union Ministry of Culture that recognised her research and carried it forward as the core supporting document at the international level, which ultimately led to UNESCO conferring the Heritage tag on West Bengal’s Durga Puja,” said state BJP general secretary Jagannath Chattopadhyay.