New Delhi: National convenor of BJP IT Cell Amit Malviya on Wednesday lashed out at West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim for scrapping Vishwakarma Puja holiday in Hindi medium schools run by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).
The BJP leader also accused the West Bengal government of minority appeasement for allowing an additional holiday for Eid ul-Fitr in such schools. He further asserted that the decision to cancel Vishwakarma Puja holiday goes against members of the OBCs.
An hour later, KMC cancelled the notice, clarifying that it was issued without obtaining any concurrence from the competent authority. “A Corrigendum (Memo No. 026/KMC/Edn/2025, dated 25.02.2025) was issued immediately cancelling the original memorandum that had typographical mistakes. KMC clarifies that the original memorandum (Memo No. 025/KMC/Edn/2025, dated 25.02.2025) stands cancelled as it was issued without KMC authority’s permission. The matter has been taken seriously, and necessary action is being initiated against the officer responsible for this lapse,” it said.
It further stated that a revised and accurate order will be issued in accordance with the state government’s Holiday List. “We request everyone to refrain from any speculation or spreading any misinformation,” the KMC added.
On Tuesday, the KMC had issued a corrigendum in which the holiday list for Hindi medium schools was revised. “Eid ul Fitr holiday will be for two days between 31.03.2025 and 01.04.2025. There will be no holiday for Viswakarma Puja on 17.09.2025 as one day from its allocated holiday has been adjusted to extend the Eid ul Fitr holiday,” it said.
WHAT DID AMIT MALVIYA SAY IN HIS POST ON X
“Earlier, the Chief Minister unilaterally slashed reservations under the OBC sub-quota and arbitrarily included Muslims, denying OBCs their rightful dues. The Calcutta High Court rightly struck it down, and the matter is now being heard in the Supreme Court. The BJP will ensure justice as per constitutional provisions. Now, Firhad Hakim, Mamata Banerjee’s close aide and a modern-day Suhrawardy, has ordered the scrapping of a holiday in Kolkata Municipal Corporation schools for Vishwakarma Puja — an occasion of great significance for Hindus, particularly the dominant OBCs — and instead allocated it for Eid-ul-Fitr, extending the holiday from one day to two,” he posted on ‘X’ with the title, ‘Welcome to Mamata Banerjee’s Islamic Caliphate of West Bengal’.
Malviya further stated: “This not only exposes Mamata Banerjee’s anti-OBC mindset but also confirms her nervousness. She knows the Muslim vote bank she once took for granted is slipping, even in the Greater Kolkata Region. What she doesn’t understand is that Muslims don’t need endless holidays — they need education and employment. An additional day off means a loss of daily wages for Muslims, most of whom work as casual laborers in Bengal. It also deprives Hindus of their rightful observances.”
Malviya added: “Mamata Banerjee’s Muslim appeasement is destroying West Bengal’s social fabric. If she continues in office, in a few years, it will be difficult to recognize whether our Bengal is still the land of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Netaji, and Syama Prasad Mookerjee…”
Check his post here
