'Islamic Caliphate': BJP slams Mamata for replacing Hindu holiday with Eid in KMC schools

The KMC, which is headed by Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, in its notification had scrapped the Vishwakarma Puja holiday but extended the one-day off for Eid to two in Hindi medium KMCP schools.

Lashing out at the CM, BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya wrote on X, "Welcome to Mamata Banerjee’s Islamic Caliphate of West Bengal... Firhad Hakim, Mamata Banerjee’s close aide and a modern-day Suhrawardy, has ordered the scrapping of a holiday in Kolkata Municipal Corporation schools for Vishwakarma Puja—an occasion of great significance for Hindus, particularly the dominant OBCs—and instead allocated it for Eid-ul-Fitr, extending the holiday from one day to two.

"This not only exposes Mamata Banerjee’s anti-OBC mindset but also confirms her nervousness. She knows the Muslim vote bank she once took for granted is slipping, even in the Greater Kolkata Region. What she doesn’t understand is that Muslims don’t need endless holidays—they need education and employment."

He added, "An additional day off means a loss of daily wages for Muslims, most of whom work as casual laborers in Bengal. It also deprives Hindus of their rightful observances. Mamata Banerjee’s Muslim appeasement is destroying West Bengal’s social fabric. If she continues in office, in a few years, it will be difficult to recognize whether our Bengal is still the land of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Netaji, and Syama Prasad Mookerjee…"

Malviya also referred to the Mamata government's inclusion of Muslims in the OBC quota, a move which was later struck down by the Calcutta High Court.

"Earlier, the Chief Minister unilaterally slashed reservations under the OBC sub-quota and arbitrarily included Muslims, denying OBCs their rightful dues. The Calcutta High Court has rightly struck it down, and the matter is now being heard in the Supreme Court. The BJP will ensure justice as per constitutional provisions," he said.

Facing the flak, the KMC issued a clarification and said the scrapping was done out of "typographical mistakes".

"The matter has been taken seriously, and necessary action is being initiated against the officer responsible for this lapse," a KMC notification reads.

The latest row is just the continuation of the faceoff between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), which runs the civic body with an overwhelming majority, and the BJP on religious issues.

Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had a fierce faceoff in the Budget session of the legislative assembly when the LoP accused the CM of appeasing the Muslims, which are considered as a strong vote bank of the TMC.

The BJP attacked the Mamata Banerjee government claiming Hindu festival Saraswati Puja was not allowed in the state in reference to sporadic incidents in a few colleges.

Painting the Mamata regime as "communal", Adhikari said, "They have suspended us illegally for speaking up against the disrespect towards Maa Saraswati. This is anti-Hindu government."