CPM veteran and former state minister Asok Bhattacharya on Sunday slammed the Mamata Banerjee government for allegedly using state funds for the proposed Mahakal temple near Siliguri.
"There is nothing wrong with building any temple or mosque but it cannot be done using funds from the state government’s exchequer,” Bhattacharya told newsmen at CPM district office in Siliguri. "This is unethical and violates the provisions in the Constitution,” he said.
Mamata recently laid the foundation stone of the temple, which she had announced in October, 2025. The state government has provided 17.41 acres of land for the project to come up at Matigara on the outskirts of Siliguri. It will have a bronze statue of Mahakal (one of the forms of Lord Shiva), which will be 108 feet tall with a pedestal of equal height. The project is estimated to cost ₹340 crore.
"People here want jobs, industry and economic development for which a government is supposed to work. Building a temple cannot be considered as a solution to unemployment or means to uplift the economy,” said Bhattacharya.
Siliguri mayor and Trinamool veteran Gautam Deb had clarified the government’s stand on the temple, saying it would open a new avenue of "religious tourism" and boost the region's economy.
"We feel the chief minister is playing the ‘soft Hindutva’ card through her decision to establish a temple here, in a way defending the BJP's ‘hard Hindutva’,” Bhattacharya said.