The West Bengal government, under Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, has often mixed religion with politics; and it has lapped up every opportunity to restore and construct temples. Banerjee has reiterated that her government has taken more steps to build temples than the BJP.
At the Bengal Global Business Summit held in November 2023, Reliance Industries chairman, Mukesh Ambani announced that the Reliance Foundation has taken up an ambitious project to restore and renovate the famous Kalighat temple in Kolkata.
The West Bengal government is also constructing a Jagannath Temple in Digha in the State’s Purba Medinipur district at over ₹100 crore on a 20-acre plot. The temple, about 65 metres high, is expected to house marble idols of Jagannath, Subhadra, and Balaram.
