Kolkata, Sep 26 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that he had prayed to Goddess Durga for a new government in West Bengal after the Assembly elections in the state next year.  HM Shah visited the Kalighat Temple in the morning and worshipped Goddess Kali. "I prayed to Maa Durga so that after the Assembly elections next year, the people of West Bengal get such a government which would lead the state towards prosperity. Let peace return in West Bengal. Let us create Bengal in the way imagined by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore,” the Union Home Minister said at the inauguration of the community Durga Puja pandal of Santosh Mitra Square in central Kolkata. The principal organiser of this pandal is BJP councillor in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Sajal Ghosh.

The Puja theme for Santosh Mitra Square this year is Operation Sindoor, highlighting the valour of the Indian Armed Forces, who demolished several terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir in May. Speaking on the occasion, the Union Home Minister also said that he sincerely hopes that after the elections next year, West Bengal will re-emerge as a “safe, prosperous and peaceful” state. He also expressed condolences for the families of 10 individuals in West Bengal, including eight in Kolkata, who died from electrocution on Tuesday. “There had been torrential rainfall in West Bengal before the Durga Puja. A total of ten people have died. I express my condolences to the families of the victims,” Shah said.

“May the festival of Durga Puja in West Bengal, which is a globally acclaimed occasion now, lead the state towards the path of prosperity? Our leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi dreams of ‘Vikshit Bharat’ through the route of ‘prosperous Bengal’. Let his dreams be fulfilled,” the Union Home Minister said. HM Shah also recollected iconic educationist, social reformer, and philanthropist Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar on the occasion of the latter’s birth anniversary. ”His contribution towards academic development will never be forgotten. He dedicated his entire life to the Bengali language, the traditions of Bengal, and the education of women of Bengal,” the Union Home Minister said. HM Shah arrived in Kolkata on Thursday and said, "Be it the Durga Puja of West Bengal or the Garba-Ras of Gujarat, the entire country is engaged in the worship of Mother Durga with enthusiasm and devotion".