Left parties alleged BJP and RSS supporters vandalised temporary bookstalls during Durga Puja. Condemnations across ideological lines sharpened debate over free expression and political tolerance.
Stock photo used for illustration
Political tensions in West Bengal spilled into Durga Puja after Left parties alleged that people aligned with the BJP and RSS vandalised their temporary bookstalls across the state, news agency Press Trust of India reported. Some BJP and RSS leaders condemned the alleged attacks, saying ideological differences could not justify restricting freedom of expression.
The CPI(M) has moved the Calcutta High Court, alleging that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and police tried to remove its temporary bookstall in Jadavpur during the festivities. The CPI(M), SUCI and other Left parties also alleged that their stalls were vandalised at several places, from Dinhata in Cooch Behar district to Haridevpur in south Kolkata.
CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said on Monday that the vandalism was an attack on democratic thought. “They are the enemies of Bengali Hindus,” the former Jadavpur MP said, alleging that the BJP, despite projecting itself as a champion of Hindu Bengalis, was acting against their interests.
Chakraborty said Left parties had been setting up temporary bookstalls near puja pandals since at least 1952. “The attackers are afraid of books and democratic thoughts, and that is why they vandalised the bookstalls,” he said.
Although some BJP leaders criticised the vandalism, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari continued his attack on Communist parties. “The Communists do not offer prayers, refuse to tie the sacred thread on their wrists, and do not put tilak on their foreheads. Beware of them,” he said.
In September, Adhikari had asked Durga Puja committees not to allow CPI(M) bookstalls outside pandals if the party used the term “Sharodotsav”, or autumn festival, instead of “Durga Puja” to describe the festival.
West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta condemned the vandalism but said he did not know who was behind the attacks or their political affiliations, PTI reported. “I am ashamed that such a thing has happened, and such things should not be repeated,” he told a Bengali news channel while visiting a Durga Puja pandal.
Dasgupta said the incidents could not be treated as isolated because vandalism had been reported at more than one location. “I have an ideological difference with the Leftists, but that does not mean I will not allow them to display or sell books,” he said, stressing that freedom of thought and expression must not be restricted.
“I have seen the Left parties' stalls during pujas for 30 to 40 years. They do not draw a huge crowd, but they set them up,” Dasgupta said. Responding to criticism that Left parties were atheists, he added: “Yes, they are atheists, ideologically. But so what? I cannot support hooliganism on that excuse.”
“Whether it is a book by Lenin, Marx or anyone else, people who want to put forward their views should be allowed to do so. It is like TV channels. There can be 30 of them, but the remote is in your hand. Whether to read or not is your choice,” the finance minister said.
Dasgupta said the alleged vandalism had damaged the state's image. Describing himself as a staunch opponent of the Left, he said he saw little relevance in Marxist literature today, but it remained a historical document. “If someone wants to read it, let them,” he said.
He also said the BJP was the only party to oppose the ban on Salman Rushdie's “The Satanic Verses”. The party had protested when Taslima Nasreen was driven out of Kolkata and welcomed her back when it had the opportunity, he said.
“I have personally organised a programme for her. Taslima is also an atheist. I do not agree with everything she says, but I uphold her right to say it with dignity. I see attacks on books in the same light,” Dasgupta said.
RSS leader Jishnu Basu also condemned the alleged vandalism, telling PTI that Left parties had the right to set up bookstalls and describing those who demolished them as cowards. He said the principles of Hindutva allowed others to express their opinions. “Those indulging in such acts are indirectly causing severe damage to an ideology,” he said.
Basu said the people of West Bengal had united against the pride of power in the Assembly elections and defeated the Trinamool Congress to bring the BJP to power. “It is our duty to respect people's mandate,” he said.
“The CPI(M), CPI and SUCI have the right to set up bookstalls, unless they are indulging in any act that may endanger a life,” said Basu, the RSS Saha Khetra Prachar Pramukh of South Bengal. He said there was no masculinity in vandalising bookstalls and called those attacking the stalls cowards.
“If someone understands the ethos of Bharat and Hindus, they would know that it is not only about tolerance but also about accepting the ideals of others and giving them freedom to express their opinion,” Basu said. He added that those preventing others from setting up bookstalls or expressing their views had not understood the meaning of Bharat and were “not fit to call themselves Hindus”.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury questioned why the BJP-led state government was readily using the state machinery against political opponents. “Why is the State machinery so readily mobilised against political opposition and protesting youth, while serious threats to public safety remain?” he said in a post on X.
“In Kolkata, 19 lives were lost at Chorbagan amid serious crowd-management failures, despite the puja's massive publicity and government recognition. Yet at Jadavpur, police and civic authorities arrived with a bulldozer to remove Left parties' bookstalls!” Chowdhury said. He also asked: “Since when have books and peaceful democratic protests become greater threats than bullets and criminals?”
The dispute has brought political rivalries into the Durga Puja festivities, with Left parties seeking legal action over the alleged targeting of their bookstalls and leaders from the BJP, RSS and Congress raising concerns over vandalism and the right to peaceful expression.
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