The sale of books has emerged as the latest political flashpoint in West Bengal, with under-construction book stalls run by Left parties allegedly vandalised in Kolkata’s Dhakuria and elsewhere, amid chief minister Suvendu Adhikari’s call to deny the CPI(M) space at Durga Puja venues.
The alleged attack in Dhakuria on Wednesday left senior activists of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation and local Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), workers injured. The structure of a book stall being set up by the Communist Party of India (CPI) was also vandalised.
The incidents come weeks after Adhikari, on September 10, urged Durga Puja committees to deny the CPI(M) space for book stalls if the party used the term “Sharodotsav”, or autumn festival, instead of Durga Puja. He alleged that the term was part of a concerted attempt to dilute the religious character of the festival and impose communist culture. He reiterated the position two days later while inaugurating a Ganesh Puja pandal in Keshtopur, a northern suburb of Kolkata.
Left-wing parties have been setting up book stalls during Durga Puja and other festivals in Bengal for decades. The practice dates back to 1954, when the undivided CPI set up the first festive book stall in Park Circus under the leadership of communist leader Muzaffar Ahmed.
CPI(M) leader Suryakanta Mishra (centre) inaugurated a book stall in Tollygunge on October 15
Despite repeated electoral setbacks since 2011, the CPI(M) continues to have a network of festive book stalls across the state. The CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation and the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), or SUCI(C), also set up stalls according to their organisational strength. Such stalls are set up during Kali Puja, Christmas and Eid as well.
In recent years, the Trinamool Congress, the BJP, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliated organisations have also begun setting up book stalls. However, the public call by a sitting chief minister to deny Left parties space at festive venues marks an unprecedented escalation in the dispute.
Attack on Book Stall in Dhakuria
According to eyewitness accounts, the CPI(M), CPI(ML) Liberation and CPI have been setting up book stalls near the Dhakuria bus stand during Durga Puja for decades. On Wednesday, around 5.30 pm, a group of 10 to 12 men arrived while CPI(ML) Liberation workers were supervising the construction of their stall. The men allegedly ordered them to stop work, identified themselves as BJP-RSS workers and demanded that the site be vacated, claiming they intended to set up their own stall at the same location.
Manas Chatterjee, also known as Babun, a member of the CPI(ML) Liberation’s Kolkata district committee, said the party had been operating its book stall at the Dhakuria bus stand since at least 1985.
“From the very beginning, the body language of the group was extremely hostile. They said that beef is consumed at our book stall and that they would not allow us to set up our stall this time,” Chatterjee said.
According to him, the group claimed to have permission from the police to set up a stall at the same location and demanded that the Left workers produce their own permission. “When I confronted them, asking who they were to demand such permission, they said that their ‘Raj’ had started and that now everything had to be done according to their whims,” he said.
Left political flags and other articles lie scattered on the road after the alleged vandalism, and injured CPI(ML) leader Babun Chatterjee, on October 14 in Kolkata | Photo: Facebook/sumaan.sengupto
Chatterjee alleged that the group repeatedly claimed to have permission from the joint commissioner of Kolkata Police and said this entitled them to set up a stall wherever they wanted.
When Chatterjee tried to prevent the group from tearing down a hammer-and-sickle flag, he was allegedly assaulted. Between 10 and 15 youths pinned him to the road and kicked and punched him on his waist and chest, he said. The under-construction stall was subsequently ransacked and uprooted.
Chatterjee alleged that police personnel were present near the site, but left when the assault began.
Amalendu Bhushan Chowdhury, an 89-year-old CPI(ML) Liberation activist, was also allegedly assaulted when he tried to protect Chatterjee.
As the confrontation escalated, local CPI(M) leader Achyut Chakraborty intervened. He alleged that members of the group splashed hot tea on him and assaulted him.
Chakraborty said the CPI(M) had been setting up a book stall at the Dhakuria bus stand since 1977, with the CPI and CPI(ML) Liberation subsequently joining the practice.
“What happened this year is unprecedented,” he said. According to Chakraborty, the group aggressively demanded to see police permission for the stalls and began assaulting Left workers when questioned about its authority to do so.
He alleged that the BJP workers initially outnumbered the Left activists after mobilising around 40 to 50 people over the phone. Party workers and local residents then gathered at the spot, but the Left workers tried to prevent the confrontation from escalating further.
"Book stalls during the puja have always been a defining feature of the festive season in West Bengal. The BJP's fascist brigade is vandalising such stalls. At a book stall near Dhakuria bridge in Kolkata, our local committee secretary and State Committee member Comrade Babun Chatterjee has been seriously injured by the fascist goons. Veteran octogenarian Comrade AB Chowdhury has also been beaten up. Condemn this fascist assault on comrades and on the progressive cultural tradition of West Bengal," CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said in a Facebook post.
Police Permission Becomes a Point of Contention
Following the incident, CPI(M), CPI(ML) Liberation and CPI workers approached Lake police station to lodge a complaint. According to the Left parties, police said the stalls did not have the required permission and that, since the parties had only informed the police about their plans to set them up, and not sought formal permission, the police could not intervene.
Chakraborty said the police repeatedly asked whether the parties had obtained permission from the joint commissioner of police. “It intrigued us that the tone of the BJP workers and the police sounded similar on this issue,” he said.
A book stall set up by CPI(ML) during Durga Puja in 2021, and party general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya sitting outside one such stall (Right) | Photos: Facebook/dipankarcpiml
The Left parties maintain that the land belongs to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), to which they have paid the required fees to set up their stalls. They said the established practice has been to inform the local police station rather than obtain police permission, and that this arrangement has been followed for close to 50 years.
Chakraborty said police were unable to produce a notification establishing that the rules had changed and that prior police permission was now mandatory.
According to CPI(M) and CPI(ML) Liberation leaders, the issue of police permission has not arisen in other parts of Kolkata, where stalls have been set up after informing the police.
On Thursday, Left party workers marched from the Dhakuria bus stand to Lake Police Station. The rally was attended by CPI(M) leader Shatarup Ghosh, former CPI councillor from KMC Ward 92 Madhuchanda Deb and CPI leader Prabir Deb, among others.
Police, however, maintained that the stalls lacked the required permission and that they could not assist the parties because the joint commissioner had not approved them.
“It won’t be an overstatement to say that the Lake Police Station tried using the BJP workers, who are mostly outsiders, to heckle us so that the stalls would not come up,” he said.
Alt News contacted Lake police station, but officials declined to comment. The Left parties said their stalls would be inaugurated on Friday despite the dispute.
Voice of Opposition Should not be Suppressed: HC
The Dhakuria incident is not the only controversy involving Left party book stalls. The CPI(M) has also reportedly faced opposition to setting up stalls in other places in the state. According to a report in Anandabazar Patrika, similar incidents have been reported from Behala and Kasba in Kolkata, Shibpur in Howrah, Naihati in North 24 parganas and elsewhere.
The CPI(M) approached the Calcutta high court on Wednesday in this regard. In their petition, the party mentioned an incident of October 6 in Bongaon. As the party started work for building a book stall there, people allegedly from Hindu Jagran Mancha stopped them. Left workers were allegedly assaulted and threatened against putting up the stall.
Justice Sougata Bhattacharya, hearing the petition, sought the police’s response and observed that the state could not “pick and choose” while granting permission. The opposition could not be denied permission in a manner that effectively stifled its activities, the court said.
“It is not right to allow one party and deny permission to others. The voice of an Opposition political party should not be suppressed in this manner. They are not setting up a lottery shop; they want to sell books. What is the problem?” Justice Bhattacharyya observed.
CPI(M) leader Biman Basu after inaugurating a Durga Puja book stall in Jadavpur on October 8, 2024 | Photo: Facebook/cpimcc
The state subsequently approached a division bench, arguing that the proposed stall was to be set up on Public Works Department land without permission and that a report should be sought from the department rather than the police. On Thursday, the division bench sent the matter back to Justice Bhattacharya.
Later that day, Justice Bhattacharya directed that the CPI(M) be allowed to set up its book stall within 100 metres of the intended location. The court held that the police would be responsible for dealing with any untoward incident and assigned responsibility for maintaining law and order around the stall to the superintendent of police of Bongaon Police District and the inspector-in-charge of Bongaon.
In its order, the court observed that if other people were allowed to set up stalls selling different items during the festive season, the CPI(M) should not be prevented from selling books.
It added that the dissemination of different political thoughts and ideologies was welcome in a democracy because it made democracy “fruitful, deep-rooted and matured”. The court also said it expected the ruling dispensation to create an atmosphere in which people aligned with different political ideologies would not hesitate to express their views.
न्यूज़ हिमाचली News Himachali | हिमाचल की No. 1 हिंदी वेबसाइट CM योगी का बड़ा बयान, UP में सभी भर्ती परीक्षाओं के लिए बने एक एज...
न्यूज़ हिमाचली News Himachali | हिमाचल की No. 1 हिंदी वेबसाइट जब सोफिया हयात ने रोहित शर्मा और विराट कोहली को लेकर किए अश्लील ...
तहकीकात न्यूज़ GORAKHPUR सपा झंडे रंग में रगा गया गोरखपुर में शौचालय,सपा जिलाध्यक्ष ने दिया ज्ञापन जताया विरोध VARANASI भार...
न्यूज़ हिमाचली News Himachali | हिमाचल की No. 1 हिंदी वेबसाइट एक मोबाइल फोन और 7000 रुपये, कैसे इस स्कूली छात्र ने चंद महीनों ...
तहकीकात न्यूज़ उतरौला क्षेत्र में पलता रहा अस्तीन का साँप,नही थी किसी को ख़बर बॉर्डर क्षेत्र से गुजरने वाले संदिग्ध वाहनों क...
Hello, my name is Ankit Sahu. I'm a 25 year old self-employed Pirate from the Chhindwara.