Suvendu Adhikari taunts 'communists and cockroaches' amid Left bookstall attacks

Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday doubled down on his Hindutva pitch with a tirade against “communists and cockroaches” amid allegations that vandals from the saffron ecosystem attacked Left bookstalls during Durga Puja.

“I am not a communist, I am not an atheist. I am not a Jamaati (radical Islamist) either. I am the son of a Hindu family. I am Sanatani. I perform puja every year. This Puja has been happening for 56 years. I have been participating in it for 50 years. It is my duty as a Sanatani,” said Suvendu after offering prayers at his neighbourhood Puja in Contai, pointing at a tilak on his forehead and threads (deemed sacred by Hindus) on his wrist.

“It is a matter of my faith, a personal matter. It has nothing to do with the chief minister or anything else,” he said, but immediately added: “Those who are giving lectures... they are communists. They do not offer garlands. They do not eat choranamrito. They do not tie dor on their wrists. They do not apply tika on their foreheads. Be cautious of them.”

He followed this with an apparent reference to the Cockroach Janta Party and the nationwide movement it now spearheads against the saffron regime. This movement currently demands the removal of India’s most controversial chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, a freeze on the contentious SIR, restoration of the January 2025 electoral rolls, repeal of the 2023 chief election commissioner appointment law, and broader electoral reforms.

“Cockroaches, bedbugs... whose fathers, grandfathers are in China. Be careful of them,” said Suvendu.

“They want to create unrest all over India, the way it happened in Bangladesh. They must be impeded by any means necessary,” he warned.

Suvendu’s tirade comes after attacks on the bookstalls prompted condemnation from even Jisnu Basu of the RSS, state BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya and minister Swapan Dasgupta.