CPM moves Calcutta High Court over attempt to remove Jadavpur Durga Puja bookstall

The CPM has moved the Calcutta High Court over an alleged attempt by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and police to remove a temporary bookstall set up by the party in Jadavpur during Durga Puja, with the matter scheduled to be mentioned before the court's vacation bench on October 22.

The petition seeks directions to restrain the KMC and police from taking action to remove the bookstall, the party's lawyer, Shamim Ahmed, said on Monday. The CPM alleged that the stall was targeted on Saturday over permission-related issues, claiming that its application to set it up had not been considered by the authorities.

The legal move comes amid allegations by the CPM, SUCI and other Left parties that their temporary bookstalls were vandalised at several places across Bengal, from Dinhata in Cooch Behar district to Haridevpur in south Kolkata.

CPM central committee member Sujan Chakraborty on Monday described the vandalism as an attack on democratic thought and accused the BJP of creating unrest during Durga Puja, the biggest festival of Bengali Hindus.

"They are the enemies of Bengali Hindus," the former Jadavpur MP said, alleging that the BJP, which projects itself as a champion of Hindu Bengalis, was acting against their interests.

"The autumn festival had been celebrated for generations, and Left parties had been setting up temporary bookstalls near puja pandals since at least 1952," he said.

"The attackers are afraid of books and democratic thoughts, and that is why they vandalised the bookstalls," Chakraborty said.

State Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta also condemned the incidents, saying he did not know who was behind the attacks or their political affiliations.

"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, as 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 curtailed.

In September, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari had asked Durga Puja committees not to allow CPM bookstalls outside pandals if they used the term 'Sharodotsav' (autumn festival) instead of 'Durga Puja' to describe the festival.

The CPM and other Left parties have said they have been setting up bookstalls near Durga Puja pandals across Bengal for decades.