The RSS and a section of senior State BJP leadership, including State party president Samik Bhattacharya and Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta, have joined the other political parties in strongly condemning the alleged “saffron vandalism” in the book stalls set up outside the Durga Puja pandals by the Left parties.
“I have always been a strong critic of the Left, but that does not mean you will attack and vandalise their stalls… the goondaism that started after May 4 seems still to be continuing… This has left a blot… it makes me hang my head in shame,” Dasgupta told the media, condemning attacks on the CPI(M) book stalls selling Marxist literature outside the Puja pandals.
Bhattacharya too condemned the attacks, saying “winning elections should humble you instead of being arrogant… India is a democratic country where everyone is allowed to hold and propagate his views… it should be countered politically and ideologically and not through vandalism… I don’t think BJP men should be involved in such incidents… I have seen some known faces present during the attacks and they should have prevented them… action will be taken against those responsible behind such vandalism.” The Left parties, including CPI(M), CPI, SUCI, and CPIM(L), usually set up book stalls outside the Puja pandals every year.
However, alleged supporters of Bajrang Dal and other Hindutva organisations pulled down about a dozen such stalls and tore up books at various places, from Chanchal in Malda district to Kulpi in South 24 Parganas to Burdwan and other places, triggering sharp criticism across party lines. “Bengal has been a renaissance state and reading books is always encouraged by the parents, however poor they are… this is our culture; people will not take it lying down,” said Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury, while Mamata TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said that during the TMC regime, book stalls were never attacked.
RSS State president Jishnu Bose said that his group never supported vandalism and destruction of books. “This is an act of cowardice… you counter others’ ideologies with your own, but you have no right to take recourse to such deplorable means,” he said.
Incidentally, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had, before the Durga Pujas, slammed the Left for “nurturing atheist ideologies but utilising the Durga Pujas to sell their books. He also alleged that “the billboards over the stalls always read Sharadotsav (autumnal festival) instead of Durga Puja adding, “no stall would be allowed to be raised unless they write Durga Puja.” The Chief Minister, too, of course, condemned attacks on the book stalls.