The Chief Minister was speaking on stage at the inauguration of the Christmas festival at Allen Park. Talking about working for the deprived people of the society, he quoted a popular song line from the Bengali film Pratidan starring Naseeruddin Shah and Sharmila Tagore. He said, ‘Burn the mangal lamp, fill the eyes of darkness Lord…. He paused for a while and said, ‘Tell me what is his crime, who was born in the palm of his hand? With your forgiveness you’. He stopped again and said, ‘You take him.’ Here, in the words of Gouriprasanna Majumdar, the song of the film, composed by Bappi Lahiri, had the line, ‘…Forgive yourself, you, fotao padma kare him.’ The chief minister himself said, ‘I changed it a little.’ However, he did not explain the reason.
But the explanation in political circles, even if he did not say it, is that his political rivalry with the BJP, the political party that symbolizes the Padma, is well known. So, before the panchayat polls, he was prevented from saying ‘photao padma kare’ in Bengali, so he made a ‘slight change in the line’. After that he sings another line and asks the singers to remember the songs as Christmas ‘carols’ in Bengali.
Christmas Program of State Govt
The state government has taken a bunch of programs on the occasion of Christmas. The Chief Minister in his speech said what programs have been taken. Major places like Jhargram, Alipurduar, Howrah, Asansol, Bidhannagar along with Church of Bow Barracks, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Chandannagar, Bandel, Krishnanagar and Baruipur in Kolkata will be decorated with lights on the occasion of Christmas festival. Cultural programs are also arranged. At the inauguration of Allen Park, the Chief Minister once again reminded, ‘festival of all’.