Temple Run For Mamata Banerjee?: West Bengal CM To Lay Foundation Stone Of Shiva Temple In Siliguri

New Delhi: She has been repeatedly accused of minority appeasement in her desperate bid to hold on to power in West Bengal. However, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seems to have jumped on to the saffron bandwagon ahead of the 2026 assembly polls in the state.

On Monday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo laid the foundation stone for Durga Angan, a temple to Goddess Durga temple at the New Town of Kolkata. 

The West Bengal CM also announced that she will attend the stone-laying ceremony of a temple to Lord Shiva in Siliguri in the northern part of the state next month.

“Today, the foundation stone for the Durga Angan has been laid, and the work for the construction of the same will start now. In the second week of January, the foundation stone for the Mahakal temple at Siliguri will be laid next month. The land for that has been identified. I have also decided on the date for the foundation stone laying ceremony at Siliguri. It will be in the second week of January next year,” Mamata told the media at the stone laying ceremony of Durga Angan.

“The Durga Angan will be set up over an area of 2 lakh square feet of land. It would accommodate 1 lakh visitors at a time,” she added.

Can TMC chief dispel image of minority appeasement? 

Claiming that she had equal respect for all religions, the TMC chief sought to dispel the notion that she only favours a particular community. 
“I try to maintain the rituals attached to that religion whose rituals I attend,” the West Bengal Chief Minister said.

“The Durga Angan will not be a religious place. It will provide employment to a large number of people, also. In West Bengal, no one would be able to divide people in the name of religion. Those who were credited with the task of constructing the Lord Jagannath temple at Digha in East Midnapore district have been entrusted with the task of constructing the Durga Angan. A trust headed by the West Bengal Chief Secretary, Manoj Pant, will oversee the functioning of the Durga Angan,” she added.