India, Oct. 21 -- West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday said that only followers of 'Sanatan Dharma' would be allowed to touch Durga idols during immersion rituals.

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, PTI reported.

The chief minister said arrangements had been strengthened this year, with particular attention to security concerns and the...