‘Mahakaran Karmacharibrinda’ protest news on ‘Vishwakarma Puja’ in unsigned statement, allegations persist

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, September 8, 2022

The newly formed ‘Mahakaran Karmacharibrinda’ which launched an extortion drive for organising ‘Vishwakarma Puja’ at the cost of the vehicle drivers, the original organizers of the annual ‘Puja’ has lodged a lame protest against an authentic news-item uploaded on this portal. The catch-point of the protest note is that “ a small vested interest group has presented this news-item in order to cast a shadow on the joyful celebration of the festival” and the statement of protest has expressed the ‘hope’ that the festivity this year also will come off in appropriately festive conditions.

But the unsigned protest note has inadvertently conceded that ‘this puja is organized chiefly by the drivers and technical employees and this has raised the legitimate question : why this year an obscure ‘Mahakaran Karmacharibrinda’ had to be formed to organise the ‘Puja’ and why a virtual extortion drive had to be launched, despite denial of the issue in the letter of contradiction.

Apart from this, the receipts of payment of so-called subscription are signed by a deputy secretary in one place and by section officer in others and, needless to say, these officers had never earlier been party to the organization of the ‘Puja’. Today of course the extortion drive in the name of voluntary subscription collection is conspicuous by absence following the uploading of the news in this regard in this portal yesterday. Another noteworthy point is that earlier the state government had banned organizing of ‘Saraswati Puja’ in the secretariat premises as part of secular governance.

While any religious festival can be organized by employees drivers and others beyond the official boundary of the secretariat building where people belonging to all faiths work, the state secretariat which is the nerve centre of governance and administration, should be kept outside the purview of religious festival, according to views expressed by leading intellectuals. The protest note has also unfortunately and baselessly imputed motives against the news portal, attributing the uploading of the news in this regard to a design to break the unity of the employees. For our part we can only say that we had been motivated only by concern over the secular fabric of governance and administration and we urge upon the newly formed ‘Mahakaran Karmacharibrinda’ to desist from their misguided enthusiasm to impose an exclusive pattern on the state secretariat , its employees and officers on essentially a matter of personal or collective faith.