Suvendu wants ‘Sanatanis’ identified, police says it won’t decide who can 'touch idols'

• Suvendu Adhikari orders that only ‘Sanatanis’ touch Durga idols and says people arriving at immersion sites must be identified.

• Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nanda says the police will not determine who qualifies, leaving the decision to Puja committees.

• The gap between the chief minister’s directive and the police’s stated role raises questions about how the restriction will be enforced.

A directive from West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari that only ‘Sanatanis’ should be allowed to touch Durga idols during immersion has triggered a political controversy, with Kolkata Police commissioner Ajay Nand saying the police will not determine who qualifies — even as the chief minister has ordered that people arriving at immersion sites be identified.

The contradiction came into focus on Friday when Nand clarified that deciding who could participate in handling the idols was the responsibility of Puja committees, not the police. He confirmed, however, that the committees had been asked to follow the chief minister’s instructions, leaving unanswered how anyone would establish whether a person followed the Sanatana tradition.

The controversy comes as Kolkata prepares for the immersion of Durga idols at designated ghats on Friday and Saturday, 24 October. While the government says the directive is intended to protect religious customs and traditions, opposition leaders have questioned how anyone would determine who qualifies as a ‘Sanatani’.

Speaking to reporters at Babughat on Wednesday while inspecting immersion arrangements, Adhikari said, “Only those who believe in the Sanatana tradition should touch the idols.”

The chief minister also said he had instructed the police commissioner to maintain a record of those arriving at the immersion sites. “I have asked the CP (commissioner of police) to maintain a record of those who arrive here; they must be identified,” he said.

His remarks raised questions about how such identification would be carried out and who would decide whether a person followed the Sanatana tradition.

Addressing a press conference at Lalbazar on Friday, Nand said the police would not make that determination. “The police have no role in this. Our responsibility is to maintain law and order. It is the puja committees themselves who decide who will be present for the immersion,” he said.

Asked how the authorities would distinguish between those who qualified as ‘Sanatanis’ and those who did not, Nanda replied, “I cannot say.” He added that the matter had been communicated to the Puja committees, which had been asked to conduct the rituals according to the prescribed guidelines.

“That is how it is being done,” he said, adding, “I am not aware of any instance where the Puja is conducted in a manner other than through the Sanatana tradition.”

Nand’s clarification seems to expose a gap between the chief minister’s directive and its implementation. While Adhikari has called for people arriving at immersion sites to be identified, the police commissioner has disclaimed responsibility for determining who can touch the idols, leaving the decision to puja committees without explaining how the criteria would be applied.

The directive has drawn criticism from opposition leaders, who argue that it raises questions about religious identity, constitutional principles and the inclusive nature of Hindu traditions.

The state administration has also introduced other measures for this year’s immersion process. The government has directed that hand-pulled trolleys be used instead of cranes to handle the idols, citing the need to preserve their sanctity.

Adhikari has also announced that the removal of idol frameworks will begin at dawn after the immersion proceedings conclude, as part of efforts to keep the River Ganges clean.