NEW DELHI: An image of Jesus Christ inside a ‘Vatican City-themed’ Durga Puja pandal in Ranchi was replaced on Friday with that of Lord Krishna.The development came following objections raised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). The VHP alleged that the marquee, organised by R R Sporting Club at Ratu Road, was made to “hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus” and encourage conversion. The organisers had rejected these charges earlier on Thursday.The club’s patron Vicky Yadav said the decision was taken by the puja committee members and not due to protests by any section, reports news agency PTI. “It was not due to the protest by a certain section but by our committee members to show all religions on the same platform,” he said. He said that European-style statues placed outside the pandal were retained.Yadav claimed that the design aimed to promote peace and brotherhood. “India stands for religious harmony. If that doesn’t exist, then why not just declare this a Hindu nation?” he asked, showing videos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting churches abroad during official trips.He said the idea was inspired by India’s multi-faith culture and that the club promotes Sanatan Dharma.. “We have been organising Durga Puja for the last 50 years, and every year we make pandals based on certain themes. This year, we decided to replicate the Durga Puja pandal made by Sreebhumi Sporting Club in Kolkata in 2022 on the theme of Vatican City,” Yadav said. VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal had expressed concern on Thursday on X, saying, “This has been done with an objective to hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus and aimed at encouraging religious conversion. If the organising committee of this Durga Puja pandal is so interested in secularism, I would ask them to display a photograph of a Hindu God or Goddess at any event organised by the Church or at Madrasas in Ranchi.”
