Leaders of Left parties came together on Friday in a show of solidarity to protest the alleged Right-wing attacks on their book stalls and pledged to resist them and set up stalls again.
Left leaders, including CPM state secretary Md Salim, came together on a day when a division bench of Calcutta High Court issued an interim stay on the order passed by Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya on Thursday that allowed the CPM to set up its book stall near the party office on Jessore Road in Bongaon, North 24-Parganas.
The division bench, led by Chief Justice R.V. Ghuge, held that because the CPM failed to provide permission papers from either the site’s landowner or the police, the court could not allow the party to set up the stall.
The court will resume hearing on January 21.
CPM counsel Samim Ahammed said: “The court’s ruling is only related to the CPM’s Bongaon stall and does not apply to all other stalls across Bengal.”
He said the division bench ordered the removal of the Hindu Jagran Manch stall in Bongaon if it lacked permission. Attacks continue.
At the meeting of Left parties, which was attended by leaders of the CPM, CPI, Forward Bloc, RSP, CPI(ML)-Liberation, SUCI(C), CPM state secretary Md Salim spoke about the attacks on book stalls at Dhakuria, Kasba, Behala, Howrah, Birati, Naihati, Entally and Kanchhrapara. He accused the “RSS-BJP goons” of the attacks and setting fire to the book stalls.
“Left parties have been setting up book stalls during the festivals for years. This year, the state government and the chief minister himself have been creating provocations and dictating terms on what to write and read. Taking a cue, book stalls have been attacked. The attack is on free thought and democracy,” he alleged.
“This is not the job of the government. They should be maintaining law and order during the festival,” he said.
Over the past few days, several book stalls of the Left have been attacked across Bengal. The attacks continued on Friday with at least three CPM book stalls allegedly vandalised at Bijpur, Palta and Entally.
Two days ago, an 89-year-old CPI(ML)-Liberation leader Amalendu Chowdhury was allegedly assaulted by BJP goons in Dhakuria. The BJP, however, refuted the charge.
At Charapole More in Bijpur, North 24-Parganas, a CPM book stall was ransacked and set on fire on Thursday night.
Another book stall at Santinagar, Palta, was allegedly vandalised early on Friday. The CPM has rebuilt the stall.
Salim linked the attacks to the Left's ongoing fight to demand the removal of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya, however, claimed the party had no link with the attackers. The CPM had ruled Bengal for 34 years and "angered many", he claimed.
Cooch Behar unrest
In Cooch Behar's Sitai, a bookstall set up by the All India Forward Bloc to promote the life and ideology of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was vandalised ahead of Durga Puja on Thursday. The Forward Bloc has blamed members of the BJP’s Yuva Morcha, who have, in turn, denied the allegations.
"For the past 15 years, during the Trinamool government, our party has been setting up a bookstall in front of our office in Sitai during Durga Puja. We have never faced any obstruction before. This time, however, the stall was vandalised soon after it was set up. The BJP was responsible for the incident,” alleged senior Forward Bloc leader and former MP Nripen Roy.BJP leaders, however, dismissed the charges.
"Our party was not involved in such activities. A section of Forward Bloc leaders are making false allegations against BJP for political gain,” said Deepak Roy, a BJP leader of Sitai block.
The police have increased security arrangements in the area.
Additional reporting by Main Uddin Chisti in Cooch Behar