Posters urging citizens to buy goods, meat and even biryani from Hindu-owned shops appeared across north Bengal’s Siliguri town on Sunday, triggering a political row.
The Hindu Jagaran Manch put up the colourful Bengali posters ahead of the five-day Durga Puja festival, with its members saying the message was “not a diktat but an appeal to the Hindu community.”
“I cannot believe that posters asking people to buy meat and even biryani only from shops owned by Hindus could ever appear in West Bengal,” Santosh Roy, a Siliguri resident said.
Former CPI(M) minister Asok Bhattacharya, who also served as Siliguri mayor, demanded police action.
“Putting up such posters is a crime in a secular, democratic nation. The administration should not only remove the posters but also arrest those behind this communal campaign,” Bhattacharya said.
Hindu Jagaran Manch member Abhishek Das, who is carrying out the campaign with others, said, “This is not a diktat but an appeal. If people support businesses run by Hindus, it will also impact the local economy.”
Union minister of state for education Sukanta Majumdar told the media that the Hindu Jagaran Manch is an independent organisation and his party was not involved in any such campaign.
“They (the Manch) must have thought of something before doing this. We are not a part of it. However, it is always up to the people to decide which shops they will visit,” Majumdar said.
This is not the first time the Manch has come under focus in Siliguri.
In 2025, the Manch and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) led a joint agitation outside the Bangladesh visa application Centre in Siliguri alleging atrocities against Hindus in the neighbouring nation.