Kolkata, Oct. 11 -- A Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC( social media post promoting cleanliness during Durga Puja triggered a controversy after its slogan, "Mayer Korbo Swachhta se Swagat" (We will welcome Ma with cleanliness), drew criticism for mixing Bengali and Hindi, prompting the civic body to delete and correct the post following an online backlash.
The advertisement, intended to encourage people to keep the city clean during the festive period from October 10 to 21, came under fire for its awkward wording, with several social media users and political parties mocking the phrase and questioning the quality of language used in an official civic campaign.
MAITC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee took a swipe at the post, saying: "I am starting to wonder whether I learnt Bangla wrong as a child or whether the language has changed without anyone informing me!"
The Mamata All India Trinamool Congress (MAITC) also criticised the BJP government over the advertisement, alleging that the incorrect use of Bengali reflected a lack of care towards the language. The party accused the government of allowing Bengali to be distorted and raised the issue of Hindi imposition in Bengal.
MAITC MLA Kunal Ghosh also expressed his displeasure in a social media post, questioning whether the slogan was actually Bengali and demanding that the civic body remove it and use correct language. He further criticised the condition of the civic body.
The controversy came amid heightened attention to errors in Durga Puja-related publicity. An earlier advertisement featuring an image of Goddess Durga with 11 hands had also drawn criticism before it was corrected.
Following the latest backlash, the KMC deleted the controversial post and corrected the advertisement.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.