Bengal BJP MLA Papiya Adhikari apologizes for 'flip-flops cure diseases' remark, says she meant they 'kill bacteria'

West Bengal BJP MLA Papiya Adhikari defended her remarks by claiming that bursting firecrackers helps kill bacteria and viruses and accused her critics of deliberately twisting her statements to gain TV ratings and online views. She later apologized for her comments and offered to take them down.

Adhikari said her remarks about firecrackers during Diwali and Kali Puja were based on traditional beliefs handed down by previous generations.

“Whenever I say something, people who are against me will use it to increase TRPs and views. Even if I cough or sneeze, the ‘seku-maku’ (Bengali slang referring to secularists and Marxists) will pick it up,” she reportedly told a Bengali TV channel.

“I meant that bursting firecrackers during the night of Diwali-Kali Puja kills germs as told by our grandmothers and elders for generations. Lighting lamps drives away evil forces,” she added.

Papiya Adhikari apologizes and offers to withdraw the notes

The BJP MLA subsequently expressed regret for her comments, acknowledging that traditional beliefs may not be appropriate in the context of modern scientific understanding.

“There is an old saying of our ancestors about these traditions. Basically, it is a festival of lights – a festival of light lamps – to eradicate social evils. In the past, many such evils were solved with the help of rituals. But now we live in the age of firecrackers, and given how much science has advanced, perhaps this perspective is no longer appropriate,” she said.

“If anyone has been hurt, I apologise. I am willing to retract my statement; I consider it retracted. But the main point remains: such social evils have been – and can still be – eradicated,” Adhikari added.

What did the BJP MLA say about firecrackers?

Adhikari courted controversy at the inauguration of Kali Puja pandals in her Tollygunge constituency on Saturday when she claimed that bursting firecrackers can help cure diseases.

“You will find that bursting firecrackers also helps in curing several diseases,” she said.

She also said that Kali Puja would not be complete without green crackers.

“How can Kali Puja be complete without green firecrackers? We will definitely break green firecrackers,” she said.

However, the BJP MLA added that the celebrations will be conducted in accordance with police guidelines.