Hoardings belittling Tagore with giant pictures of Amit Shah spark controversy

Kolkata: Hoardings put by the Bharatiya Janata Party in view of the Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Kolkata, have stirred a controversy as it was alleged that Rabindranath Tagore was belittled by the BJP leader's giant image.

The now-removed hoardings showed large image of Amit Shah where Rabindranath Tagore's sketchy image appeared faintly. The posters were alleged of making Tagore irrelevant and dishonouring the Bengal's cultural legacy.

According to NEW18, Supriyo Tagore, a descendant of the renowned Tagore family, termed the action as a cheap and audacious on the part of a political party to put pictures of their leaders along with Rabindranath Tagore.

"It show the state of affairs in the country. It is disgusting and deserves contempt," Supriyo said.

Student organisations and political parties also came in protest against the hoardings which forced the party to remove them overnight.

It is worth recalling that the Nobel laureate's bust was vandalised during a rally led by Amit Shah in May, 2020.

Amit Shah arrived in the city late on Friday night for a two day visit in the state where assembly elections are likely to happen within months.

Sensing the agitation the Home Minister cautiously paid tributes to Bengal's cultural icons, in his tweets posted after reaching the city.

Reached Kolkata!
I bow to this revered land of greats like Gurudev Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar & Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
কলকাতায় পৌঁছালাম।
কবিগুরু রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর, ঈশ্বরচন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর এবং শ্যামাপ্রসাদ মুখোপাধ্যায়ের মত মহামানবের এই পুণ্য ভূমিকে আমি শতকোটি প্রণাম জানাই pic.twitter.com/rEGSjc87Rk

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 18, 2020