Controversy Erupts Over Vatican City-Themed Durga Puja Pandal in Ranchi: VHP Alleges Conversion Agenda

A Durga Puja pandal in Ranchi themed after 'Vatican City' has sparked controversy with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) alleging it aims to "hurt religious sentiments of Hindus" and promote conversion, claims denied by the organizers.

Artisans were employed from Kolkata to recreate the Roman architectural site, organizers explained.

Vatican City, located in Europe, is the world's smallest sovereign state and serves as the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church.

VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal expressed his concerns on X about the Durga Puja marquee's Vatican City theme.

"This has been done with an objective to hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus and aimed at encouraging religious conversion. If the organizing 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 organized by the Church or at Madrasas in Ranchi," Bansal told PTI on Thursday.

He claimed that Christian religious symbols were placed at the pandal's entrance, with images of Mother Mary and other Christian figures displayed inside.

"The VHP Jharkhand unit would take a strong decision about this soon. We would like to appeal to the organizers to respect religious sentiments and remove Christian symbols and photographs from the pandal," Bansal added.

Vicky Yadav, president of RR Sporting Club which created the pandal, firmly rejected the VHP's allegations.

"We have been organizing 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 at Kolkata in 2022 on the theme of Vatican City," Yadav explained.

He noted that artisans from Kolkata were hired to recreate the Roman architectural site, St Peter's Basilica, and Vatican Museum as a backdrop for Goddess Durga.

"This pandal had drawn a huge crowd in Kolkata. We too have got positive feedback from Ranchi residents. Nobody is hurt about the pandal theme," he maintained.

Yadav, who also serves as president of Ranchi Zila Durga Puja Samiti, emphasized, "We live in a secular country and people of all communities enjoy Durga puja. We perform puja as per the Vedic tradition and have not done anything to hurt religious sentiments."