Kolkata: A controversy over bookstalls at Durga Puja pandals has intensified political tensions in West Bengal, with Left parties alleging that their stalls were denied permission, vandalised or targeted at several locations, and the BJP moving to distance itself from the attacks.
The CPI(M), the CPI(ML) Liberation and the SUCI(C) have reported incidents at places including Jadavpur, Barasat, Dhakuria, parts of Howrah, Bardhaman, Bijpur and North 24 Parganas. On Tuesday, the Calcutta High Court dismissed a CPI(M) petition over the alleged attempt to demolish its stall near the 8B bus stand in Jadavpur.
BJP State president Samik Bhattacharya condemned the destruction of the stalls and denied that long-standing party members were involved. "We do not support or endorse destroying CPI(M) book stalls. It is not right to put any book on the floor," he said, alleging that those responsible were people who had left the CPI(M) to join the Trinamool Congress and were now seeking to associate with the BJP.
Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta said he was "ashamed" by the incidents. "I have been a staunch critic of the Left all my life and continue to be so. But that does not mean someone can stop the Left parties from displaying or selling their books. Who are these vandals?" he asked. A leader of the RSS's east zonal unit also condemned the vandalism.
The Left rejected the distancing. CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said the acts had started under the BJP's patronage, and pointed to a remark by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in the Assembly on September 10, when he said community puja committees should allow Left bookstalls only if they called the festival Durga Puja rather than Sharodotsav. Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee condemned arson at a stall in Phulia.
The row follows the Chore Bagan pandal stampede in Kolkata on Saturday, in which 19 people were killed.