photo:The yajna organised for Prashant’s success
Siliguri, Sept 19: Indian Idol finalist Prashant Tamang now has the law on his side.
Members of the Darjeeling Bar Association (DBA) today came out in support of the hill singer who will take on Amit Paul of Shillong in the final of the music reality show on Sunday. The lawyers claimed his win would symbolise the coming together of people across communal lines both in the hills and plains.
“This will be a test of Bengal’s unity,” said Tarang Pandit, president of the DBA’s ad hoc committee, formed to campaign for the Idol hopeful. “In Darjeeling and in Siliguri people across communal lines have come together to vote for Prashant. Now we want the people from other parts of Bengal to do the same.”
Pandit was speaking at a news conference called by the committee today. The lawyers, who hail from Darjeeling, are here to campaign for Prashant.
Sankar Majumder, a lawyer of Calcutta High Court, and a member of the committee, said: “The Calcutta Police constable belongs to the whole state, not just the hills.”
Majumder has come to the hills from Calcutta to help Pandit with the campaign.
The members, however, did not stop playing the discrimination card. “The national TV channel broadcasting the programme has used cheap and mean techniques to demoralise and insult the hill people. Their portrayal of Prashant as a watchman should never be mistaken for entertainment,” said Niraj Tamang, another member.
A mahayajna was organised by a hardware merchant from Darjeeling More here to pray for Prashant’s success. The singer’s sister Archana was present at the programme. His mother too was scheduled to come, but she could not make it because of ill-health. The puja was performed by Durga Prasad Bhandari, a priest from Sonada near Kurseong. The yajna was followed by a feast.
“Prashant is a son of the soil. We all want him to win,” said Asok Mimani, the main organiser of the ceremony.
Today several rallies were taken out in the trade hub to campaign for the Idol finalist. Some clubs have made preparations to watch the grand finale on large screens with the help of projectors.
The voting spree continued all over the town. More than 100 residents at a village in Champasari raised about Rs 6,000 last Sunday. The money was supposed to last till the Indian Idol D-Day. All the funds were, however, exhausted after non-stop voting on Monday itself. “We are now raising funds for the next round of voting,” said Lalit Joshi, a resident of the area.
