August 16, 2026 04:59 pm (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
After SC rebuke, BCI chief apologises to NALSAR students over enrolment freeze row | Independence Day: PM Modi’s big youth pitch— AI training, free coaching amid exam row and job concerns | ‘Shakti Ki Saptadhara’: Modi reveals 7 pillars to power India’s next leap in his I-Day speech from Red Fort | West Bengal STF arrests 3 more suspected Pakistani spies in Cooch Behar | Bengal man arrested in Bengaluru over terror links, Afghanistan travel plan | Ajit Doval breaks silence on Operation Sindoor in Discovery’s explosive new docuseries | Rahul Gandhi's 'mock hug' taunt sparks row; Centre stresses 'mutual respect' with Italy | Delhi on high alert: Bomb threat to High Court, airport and multiple locations ahead of I-Day | ‘Who are they to interfere?’: CJI Surya Kant slams Bar Council of India over NALSAR students’ enrolment row | 'Shows how low Congress has sunk': BJP slams Rahul Gandhi over Modi foreign policy jibe
Kaali Poster

Kolkata's Dakshineswar Kali Temple condemns Kaali film poster, backs Mahua Moitra's statement on goddess

| @indiablooms | Jul 07, 2022, at 09:59 pm

Kolkata/IBNS: The Dakshineswar Kali Temple in Kolkata has condemned the controversial film poster featuring goddess Kali as a cigarette smoker, stating it "is hurting the sentiments of the Hindu community".

However, the temple has backed Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra's comment where she called goddess Kali "meat-eating, alcohol-accepting goddess".

The temple has put up a tweet which reads, "We are all worshipers of Maa Kali. Holding a cigarette in her hand is hurting the sentiments of the Hindu community. In many places, maa is given alcohol and goats are sacrificed. But holding a cig is highly reprehensible. We are strongly opposed to it."

"As we said before, we still say that there are many places where worship is done with wine, that is the rule there. But what is shown in the much-discussed poster is never acceptable. The Dakshineshwar Kali Temple strongly condemned the incident. We made our position clear," another tweet reads.

What is the controversy?

The poster of a documentary titled Kaali is creating quite a stir online for showing the Hindu goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette.

It all started after the director, Leena Manimekalai, shared the poster of the film on Twitter.

Speaking at the India Today Conclave East 2022, Moitra, who is an MP from West Bengal's Krishnanagar, said Tuesday, "Kaali to me, is a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting goddess. You have the freedom to imagine your goddess.

"There are some places where whiskey is offered to gods and in some other places it would be blasphemy."

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.