West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday said only followers of 'Sanatan Dharma' would be allowed to touch Durga idols during immersion in the Hooghly river, asserting that religious traditions must be followed.
Adhikari made the statement while reviewing immersion arrangements at Babughat in Kolkata, accompanied by Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand and Kolkata Municipal Commissioner Smita Pandey.
"I have instructed the CP to keep the identification of those who will be involved in carrying the idols into the Hooghly. Those who follow 'Sanatan Dharma' will touch the idols. There is no communal matter in it," he said.
The CM said arrangements had been strengthened this year, keeping in mind both the security concerns and the religious significance of the immersion rituals.
"To maintain the purity of the immersion, we have to follow the traditions, the scriptures and the rules that have been followed for several thousand years. This is a festival, but primarily it is a religious programme," he said.