Kolkata, March 3 Amid the ongoing political tensions between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the assembly elections in West Bengal approach, a scene of camaraderie was witnessed in Siliguri, where Mayor Gautam Deb of the TMC and MLA Sankar Ghosh of the saffron party exchanged greetings and smeared each other with "gulal" on the occasion of Dol Jatra on Tuesday.
The festival of colors was celebrated across the state on Dol Purnima, with people smearing each other with "aabir" (gulal) and other colors and exchanging sweets and savory snacks.
Deb said that the residents of Siliguri are culturally aware, humane, and in harmony with nature.
"Everyone should live in harmony in this vibrant city without any division among people; we want a united Siliguri," Deb, the mayor of the north Bengal city, said after exchanging greetings with Ghosh, the Siliguri MLA.
The BJP MLA said that all those involved in politics, whether veterans or young students and youth activists, should feel that there may be differences of opinion, but the minds should not be affected by those.
"The best part of the festival of colors is that different hues mix together," he said.
Ghosh said that political parties are entities of different opinions and paths, but the festival of colors brings everyone together.
With the assembly elections in the state due soon, political tensions have been on the rise among the different outfits.
TMC and BJP leaders also traded charges on the occasion, with Asansol South MLA Agnimitra Paul saying that women were not feeling safe in West Bengal due to "prevailing lawlessness".
"On this day, we pray for a West Bengal where women will not face assault, humiliation, and abuse on the streets every other day, where people will not be terrorized and intimidated by hooligans sheltered by the ruling party," Paul told reporters on the sidelines of a Holi celebration in Kolkata.
"This cannot be our Bengal where ruling party functionaries do not show minimum respect to the rival party leaders and activists. This cannot be our Bengal where a woman doesn't face minimum respect on roads, where a woman is violated at her workplace, where the abusers brag about political patronage, where corruption by ruling party leaders has become the order of the day," she said.
Countering Paul, senior TMC leader and minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said Holi has always been celebrated in West Bengal by rising above religious, political, linguistic, or other differences.
"Unfortunately, the BJP is using an occasion like Dol Jatra as part of its false narrative to malign Bengal ahead of polls. Everyone knows the situation in BJP-ruled states, everyone knows about the safety of women under double-engine governments. This shows the sick and depraved mindset of the BJP, which has no connection with the reality at the grassroots in West Bengal," Bhattacharya said.
The festival was celebrated with gaiety and religious fervour at Mayapur, the global headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Nabadwip, and several other places in the state.
People of all ages were seen out on the streets of Kolkata and neighboring Salt Lake from early morning, making the most of the festival of colors.