The Luminous Club of Kalyani in Nadia, chosen by Bengal governor C.V. Ananda Bose for his “Durga Ratna” award, has declined to accept it to mark its protest against funds due to Bengal held up by the BJP-led Centre of which he is a nominated representative.

Club authorities on Wednesday evening formally announced their decision, which they claimed was from “social commitment” and not any political reason.

“We would be honoured if he (Bose) instead manages to arrange the release of dues for lakhs of beneficiaries under the MGNREGS, for instance,” said the club’s chief mentor Arup Mukherjee, a Trinamul leader and a councillor of the Kalyani municipality.

“The cash award should be distributed by him (Bose) among the deprived, poor beneficiaries of central schemes, suffering for years on account of the funds freeze,” he added.

Each “Durga Ratna” award carries a cash award of Rs 5 lakh, a citation and a plaque.

Tala Prattoy, a north Calcutta-based club, also refused to accept the award, but for a different reason. The club, chosen for the pandal's magnificent use of light and shade created by artist Susanta Pal, claimed they did not participate in the contest but thanked Raj Bhavan for its gesture.

Four Puja organisers in Bengal were chosen for the “Durga Ratna” award instituted by Bose last week.

Tala Prattoy Durga puja on Thursday, October 19, 2023. Picture by Sanat Kr Sinha

This was deemed a parallel to the state government’s awards, district-wise, for best Puja organisers.

The Luminous Club, mentioned in the governor’s order as “Kalyani ITI Pandal”, was chosen for “grandeur and visual delight”. The club recreated the Grand Lisboa, a Macau-based luxury hotel, that drew huge crowds since its October 16 inauguration virtually by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Governor Bose on Sashthi paid a visit to the Luminous Club’s pandal in Kalyani, but none of the club or Nadia administration officials met him there.

A few hours after the announcement of the award by Bose’s office, the Luminous Club called a meeting and decided to refuse it.

According to the state government, the Centre owes around Rs 8,000 crore under the MGNREGS alone, among a total of Rs 1.15 lakh crore under various heads.

Frozen funds became a major political issue in Bengal after Trinamul general secretary Abhishek Banerjee made it a major plank nationally with his protests in Delhi and Calcutta earlier this month. The Abhishek-led movement, which Mamata is likely to join once her health improves, is currently on pause till October 31, on the basis of Bose's assurance to mediate in the matter.

Luminous Club's chief mentor Mukherjee added: “The governor knows everything but appears to be doing precious little to get the dues cleared for the beneficiaries. It will be a betrayal to the poor beneficiaries if we accept the award. People have been suffering a lot... so we decided to humbly decline the award."

Club members also claimed this refusal was their contribution to the ongoing fight by Abhishek against the Centre's funds freeze.