Congress and the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have targeted the BJP on Friday after an advertisement depicting Lord Ganesh as Santa Claus by the National Gallery For Modern Art (NGMA Mumbai), functioning under the Union Ministry of Culture, on the front page of a leading English language financial daily published from Mumbai.
The caption of the advertisement read: “Nikas Safronov, national artist of the Russian Federation, sponsored by Rosneft, Dream Vision, 30/12/2025 to 15/1/2026, National Gallery Of Modern Art Mumbai, solo art exhibition, entry free”. The advertisement’s visual depicts Lord Ganesh wearing a Santa Claus outfit while strumming a Russian string instrument called balalaika. The advertisement also features Moscow-based petroleum company Rosneft, as the general sponsor of the art exhibition at NGMA Mumbai.
Congress MLA Satej ‘Bunty’ Patil tweeted the advertisement from his official X account, stating, “Look at the hypocrisy of the BJP government, which claims to be the self-proclaimed protector of Hindu culture. In the advertisement of the Ministry of Culture, the adorable deity of Maharashtra, Ganpati Bappa, has been shown directly as Santa Claus. Isn’t this an insult to Hindu culture and faith? Is it the duty of self-proclaimed protectors of culture to change the form of deities to do PR for the government? This attitude of doing PR by marketing faith, tradition, and cultural identity is not of today. The game played with Hindu sentiments by the BJP government, which is preserving “Hindutva” for elections, is condemnable”.
MNS leader and Maharashtra Navnirman Vyapaar Sena President Yashwant Killedar also criticised the BJP by tweeting the advertisement from his official X account, stating, “There is a lot of anger over this advertisement by the Central government’s Cultural Department showing Ganpati Bappa in the guise of Santa Claus.
“Yesterday, BJP people were beating up people celebrating Christmas at various places. On the other hand, Modi himself was celebrating Christmas by going to a church. BJP, which calls itself a Hindutva party, really has nothing to do with Hindutva. They have proven this by being incompetent enough to insult Ganpati Bappa like this,” Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Yashwant Killedar stated.
“The veil of their unholy Hindutva has been torn. On the one hand, they used to bombard people with the idea that Christian missionaries are converting them while on the other, the prime minister used to praise them. This is purely an insult to the sentiments of Hindus. The BJP, which makes people fight for power, is now insulting the gods of Hindus. The Central government should immediately apologise to all Hindus,” MNS leader Yashwant Killedar demanded.