West Bengal govt. participates in PM Modi’s birthday celebrations; life-size statue unveiled at BJP office in Kolkata

You don’t have any Active Subscription.

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

BJP State president Samik Bhattacharya unveiled the wax statue of Mr. Modi at the party’s Salt Lake office. The life-size statue was made and gifted to them by artist Susanta Roy.   | Photo Credit: ANI

West Bengal government took part in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday celebrations on Thursday (September 17, 2026) by lighting one lakh diyas across Kolkata. A statue of the Prime Minister was also unveiled at the Bharatiya Janata Party office in the capital city.

The State government also observed the PM‘s Birthday as ‘Annapurna Divas’ and launched the PM Vishwakarma Scheme. 

“PM Modi said that they have made a list of 50 lakh names in West Bengal for whom houses will be made under the Awas Yojana, women will be made the owners of these houses,” Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said in his address during the celebrations.  

This is the first time West Bengal has joined the Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana scheme launched by the Union government. Under this scheme, the government assures to provide support to traditional artisans and craftspeople who work with their hands. 

“Here, out of 7,70,000 earlier enrollments, 2,02,000 are currently active... For the time being we are bringing a bill at the Assembly to delegate some of the power to Pachayat Secretaries to make the Vishwakarma Bill a success,” Mr Adhikari said. He added that the previous government did not allow for the central government’s schemes to be implemented in West Bengal. 

One of the biggest diya light events was organised in Kolkata on the ghats of Ganga to mark the occasion. Mr. Adhikari also participated in the diya lighting event at Baje Kadamtala Ghat. In another Ganga ghat, MSME Union Minister Jiten Ram Manjhi lit diyas with 400 beneficiaries of the Vishwakarma Yojana. 

“A diya of blessings will be lit in every household for Modi ji. That is why we are distributing the diyas for every home... At least 2 crore diyas will be lit across West Bengal,” State Minister Dilip Ghosh said. Such programmes were organised across every district in the State. 

BJP State president Samik Bhattacharya unveiled the wax statue of Mr. Modi at the party’s Salt Lake office. The life-size statue was made and gifted to them by artist Susanta Roy.  

Later several party leaders along with Mr Bhattacharya went to the Dakshineswar Kali Temple to offer prayers for the PM’s birthday. His birthday was also celebrated at the Kalighat Temple, a place popular with Trinamool chairperson Mamata Banerjee. 

Various socio-cultural programs, blood donation camps, and functions at schools were also organised on Thursday (September 17, 2026) to mark the occasion. 

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.