Attacks continue on Left parties’ book stalls across West Bengal

Attacks on Left parties’ book stalls continued across West Bengal, with stalls in Ashoknagar and Siliguri targeted over the past 24 hours.

Even as several BJP leaders and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionaries condemned the incidents, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari continued his criticism of the Left parties and their book stalls. 

The stall in Siliguri came under attack as right-wing groups objected to the contents of some books, leading to verbal altercations with the workers. The CPI(M) also alleged on Wednesday (October 21) that one of their stalls in Uttar Dinajpur district‘s Islampur had come under attack on Tuesday night, leaving several workers injured in a scuffle. 

State Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta said that Hindu pluralism and Bengalis’ love for books do not allow him to support the vandalism of Left parties' book stalls. 

“It is precisely because we have imbibed the traditional Bengali reverence for books that we are appalled. That is why the BJP defended the likes of Salman Rushdie (he got his visa back during the Vajpayee govt) & Taslima. This tradition of Hindu pluralism has guided us and not those who feign a liberal inheritance,” Mr. Dasgupta wrote on his social media handle on X on Wednesday. 

CM strikes different note

However, Mr. Adhikari struck a different note, continuing his criticism of the Left parties and their book stalls. “We are all book lovers, but you do not follow any Sanatani Hindu rituals and oppose the traditions, yet want to set up book stalls in front of Durga Puja pandals,” he said, adding that the Left parties should sell their books from inside their party offices.  

In recent days, multiple BJP and RSS leaders and other right-wing figures have condemned the attacks. Jishnu Basu, a prominent RSS leader in West Bengal, said that there was no pride in destroying books or vandalising book stalls. 

Mr. Dasgupta also said that such vandalism could not be tolerated and that he was ashamed of such activities, especially when those responsible were using their party’s name. 

BJP State president Samik Bhattacharya also condemned the attacks and said some people were misusing the party name to engage in such activities and that the party would not tolerate it. 

Opposition leaders, including Mamata-Trinamool Congress MLA Kunal Ghosh and West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar, have visited the Left parties’ book stalls to express their support and buy books. 

Book stalls set up by the CPI(M), SUCI (Communist), and CPI(ML) Liberation have come under attack in various parts of the State. The incidents have included the dismantling of stalls, arson and threats to stall workers. 

On October 17, a bulldozer was brought to a temporary CPI(M) book stall in the Jadavpur area, apparently to demolish it. However, residents and party workers stood in front of the bulldozer, forcing it to retreat.