‘Hindus only’ banner at Bengal Kankalitala temple sparks row; priests claim no entry bar

SURI: A flex put up at the entrance of Kankalitala temple in Bolpur on Monday evening declared that only Hindus would be allowed to offer puja at the shrine, one of Birbhum's five Shakti Peethas. The banner was installed by unidentified youths claiming affiliation to ‘Sanatan Paksha'.

"We have neither removed the banner nor endorsed it," said temple priest Baidyanath Chakraborty.



"No one is prohibited from entering the temple compound, but usually Hindus offer puja before the deity," he added.

Pulak Chatterjee, senior priest of Tarapith temple, another major shrine in Birbhum, said there was no restriction or verification process for devotees there. He noted that several non-Hindu VIPs have visited and paid tribute without controversy, underlining how such exclusionary messaging is at odds with Bengal's temple traditions.

BJP's local leadership denied any involvement. Shyamapada Mondal, president of the party's Bolpur organisational district unit said he had no information about the flex and opposed imposing new regulations on places of worship. "We don't want to impose any new regulation for any place of worship. A temple should be run by the temple authority," he said.