Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari went landmark-hopping across the city after his historic swearing-in.
It began at Tagore’s ancestral home in Jorasanko and ended at Kali’s abode in Kalighat.
At Jorasanko, Suvendu garlanded Rabindranath Tagore’s bust on his 166th birth anniversary and said he was “everyone’s chief minister”.
He added: “Chaitanyer uday hok (let good sense prevail).”
When Suvendu arrived around 12.45pm, people lined both sides of the road and greeted him. He waved back enthusiastically.
Rabindra Bharati University vice-chancellor Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee formally welcomed him at the venue.
Suvendu then went down on his knees and offered pranam before the bronze bust of Tagore.
“Bengal’s culture is incomplete without Tagore. The resurgence of a new Bengal has been initiated on the occasion of Rabindra Jayanti. The new government started its journey with the Prime Minister paying respects to Kaviguru at the swearing-in,” the chief minister said.
“Bengal and Bengalis’ culture and conscience will henceforth be guided by Tagore’s thoughts,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat, aired on April 26 in the middle of the Bengal elections, also referred to Tagore. “In a few days, on the 9th of May, on the occasion of Pochishe Boishakh, we will celebrate Gurudev Tagore’s birth anniversary,” Modi had said.
From Jorasanko, the chief minister headed to Bhowanipore to visit the house of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, from which the RSS emerged.
For BJP supporters, Mookerjee — former vice-chancellor of Calcutta University and son of Sir Asutosh Mukhopadhyay — occupies a central place in their pantheon of icons.
Party leaders have often cited his legacy while arguing for a stronger political push in Bengal, given his origins in the state.
“Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee had told the Congress, ‘You have divided India, I have divided Pakistan’. I will place a proposal in the Cabinet and Assembly that the foundation day of West Bengal be marked on June 20, 1947. History
cannot be altered,” Suvendu said after stepping out of Mookerjee’s Bhowanipore residence.
“Samik da (state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya) asked me to visit Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s house today,” he added.
From Bhowanipore, he proceeded to Bharat Sevashram Sangh at 211 Rash Behari Avenue, Ballygunge.
Earlier, Suvendu had said he would visit the institution to pay respects to Swami Pranavanandaji, “who fought alongside Syama Prasad Mookerjee in saving Bengal”.
Swami Pranavanandaji founded Bharat Sevashram Sangh in 1917.
Later in the evening, the chief minister reached Kalighat and offered puja.
He carried a basket of offerings and wore a yellow scarf as chants of “Jai Shri Ram” filled the air.
By the end of the day, Suvendu had shifted from the saffron kurta worn at the swearing-in back into his more familiar white attire.
