A political slugfest was sparked after TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday reacted to a controversy over a movie poster showing Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette. She said, “Kaali to me, is a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting goddess. You have the freedom to imagine your goddess. There are some places where whiskey is offered to gods and in some other places it would be blasphemy."

Mahua Moitra's party, Trinamool Congress (TMC), opposed her comments and distanced itself. With heat mounting on her, Mahua came out with a clarification and stated that she never backed any film or poster or mentioned the work smoking.

Her comments also gave the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) the ammunition to target the TMC. Two FIRs were filed by the BJP in Kolkata against her comments.