The story so far: Over the past several days, book stalls set up by Left parties at Durga Puja pandals have come under attack at several places in West Bengal. Stalls run by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India and the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) have been targeted not only in Kolkata but also in the districts. In several places, the police have also denied permission to set up temporary book stalls.
On the night of October 17, supporters of Left parties formed a human chain around a temporary book stall in the Jadavpur area, where civic authorities and the police attempted to raze the structure using a bulldozer. Temporary book stalls run by non-political organisations, including the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), have also come under attack.
The tradition of setting up book stalls at Durga Puja pandals has a long history in West Bengal. The CPI(M) and other Left parties do not directly associate themselves with the ritual aspects of Durga Puja. For them, these stalls are not merely a means of popularising their political ideology but also a way of engaging with people during one of the State’s biggest public festivals.
Why is Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari opposed to book stalls?
Almost a month before Durga Puja, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari urged organisers not to allow Left parties to set up book stalls at the pandals. He argued that parties which refer to Durga Puja as “Sharodotsav”, or autumn festival, rather than associating themselves with its religious significance, should not be allowed to set up stalls at the pandals.
On October 20, as the festivities drew to a close, Mr. Adhikari reiterated his opposition to Left parties setting up book stalls during Durga Puja. He said that if the Left parties wanted to sell books, they could do so from their party offices, which are spread across the State. He again argued that parties which did not support Durga Puja or other festivals should not be allowed to set up stalls at the pandals.
“Those who do not believe in Durga Pujas or any other Pujas, it is better that they should not be allowed to sell books during Durga Puja. Keep the books inside your party offices, make a library and sell books from there. There are 4,000 to 5,000 party offices like palaces in the State and all of them are open,” Mr. Adhikari said on October 20.
BJP, RSS leaders oppose attacks on book stalls
While the Chief Minister continued to voice his opposition to book stalls run by Left parties at Durga Puja pandals, his Cabinet colleague Swapan Dasgupta, State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya and senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary Jishnu Basu spoke out against the attacks.
Mr. Dasgupta, who holds the Finance portfolio, said he could not support the attacks on book stalls. “I have been witnessing such stalls for 30-40 years. Not that they draw a lot of attention. But they set up stalls anyway. I do not support the hooliganism around book stalls in any way,” he said.
Mr. Bhattacharya said that no party worker could be involved in vandalising book stalls and that action would be taken if anyone was found to have done so. Mr. Basu said there was no valour in attacking a book stall and that those responsible could not call themselves Hindus.
Despite these objections from sections of the BJP and RSS leadership, the attacks continued, while the administration failed to prevent them. This is not the first time that the BJP leadership has spoken in different voices. Following the attack on Jadavpur University, key functionaries in the party and the government had also expressed divergent views.
What is the role of the judiciary?
After the police denied permission for a temporary book stall in Bongaon, the CPI(M) approached the Calcutta High Court.
On October 15, a single-judge Bench of the High Court directed the State government to allow the stall. In his order, Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya observed that the dissemination of different political thoughts and ideologies was welcome in a democracy, as it helped make democracy more fruitful, deep-rooted and mature. He urged the ruling dispensation to create an atmosphere in which people aligned with different political ideologies could express their views without hesitation.
The State government, however, challenged the order before a division Bench. On October 16, a Bench comprising Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge and Justice Shabbar Rashidi stayed the single judge’s order.
On October 20, the CPI(M) approached the High Court’s vacation Bench against police action at its book stall in Jadavpur. The court dismissed the petition, observing that the matter had already been dealt with in the Bongaon book stall case.
Left vs Right
The targeting of book stalls run by Left parties is part of the political contest that has emerged in West Bengal since the BJP government came to power in May 2026. Buoyed by its electoral victory and the dismantling of the Trinamool Congress’s organisational network, the BJP appears to have turned its attention towards the Left as a political adversary.
The attacks on Jadavpur University by supporters of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), remarks by BJP leaders directed at the university’s students and faculty, and the recent attack on former CPI(M) MP and senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya point to an increasingly pronounced Left-versus-Right political divide in the State.
CPI(M) State secretary Md. Salim has argued that the books are merely a pretext and that the ruling party has decided to crack down on activities associated with education and culture.
Opposition to the attacks has extended beyond the Left Front. Leaders from outside the alliance have also spoken out against the targeting of book stalls. The controversy could, therefore, provide an impetus for greater unity among Left parties and other political forces in West Bengal.