Adhikari’s new diktat for Left: Write 'Durga Puja', or else...

West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday, 10 September suggested a rather unusual but not unsurprising — test for Leftist book stalls outside Durga Puja pandals: if they call the festival ‘Sharodotsav’ instead of ‘Durga Puja’, they should not be allowed to operate.

Speaking in the state Assembly, Adhikari accused sections of the Left of selectively targeting ‘Sanatan Dharma’ and the saffron colour, and urged Durga Puja committees to keep CPI(M)-associated book stalls away if they used the term ‘Sharodotsav’ — literally, autumn festival — to describe the celebrations.

"A section of professors, who are so-called Leftists, are attacking Sanatanis. They are selectively targeting the saffron colour. I would ask all Durga Puja committees that if the Communists write 'Sharodotsav' instead of 'Durga Puja' at the book stalls they set up, they should not be allowed to operate," he said.

So, in an unusually specific addition to Bengal’s political battles, the chief minister’s objection was not to Communist literature being sold outside a Durga Puja pandal, but to what the stall might call the festival on its signboard.

CPI(M) and affiliated organisations have been setting up book stalls near Durga Puja pandals for decades, selling Marxist literature, party publications and other books while using the festival as an opportunity to reach out to people.

The first such CPI(M)-associated book stall was set up in Park Circus in 1954 on the initiative of veteran Communist leader Muzaffar Ahmed. The practice acquired particular significance because party workers and local leaders were generally discouraged from directly participating in religious events. The red-cloth book stalls became less common after the Left Front's defeat in 2011, but continue to appear at select locations.

Adhikari said he had no objection to books being sold during the festival, but objected to what he described as an attempt to deny or minimise its religious character through the use of ‘Sharodotsav’.

He also warned that opposition to ‘Sanatan Dharma’ or the saffron colour would invite strict action in the future. "This is the right time to pull out and cast away the seeds that the Communists have sown in this land that gave birth to ideas like that of Naxalism," Adhikari said.

"Let there be an all-out war against them which may last three months," he added, asking BJP MLAs in the House whether they were ready for the "battle". They responded with a resounding "yes".

CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim called the statement a "fascist attack" aimed at "igniting religious passion" through the alleged misuse of Adhikari's constitutional position. "These are fascist attacks to provoke the Bajrangis who set fire to party offices at night and carry out vandalism inside institution campuses," he told PTI.

Salim also questioned the chief minister's authority to determine what a book stall should call the festival, arguing that the government should instead focus on education, health, industry, employment, commerce, price rise and civic amenities. "He is supposed to address so many people's issues. Instead he is following the footsteps of his predecessor who had decided which books and periodicals to keep in public libraries," the CPI(M) politburo member said.

Defending the use of ‘Sharodotsav’, Salim said autumn festivals are celebrated across Asia and have historically been associated with agrarian societies. "That's why Tagore had introduced festivals like 'Pous Mela', 'Barsha Baran' and 'Basanta Utsav' in Bengal," he said.

Salim said Durga Puja also provides a platform for a wide range of creative and cultural expression, including new publications, music albums, exhibitions and pandal installations, often using local resources. "They want to stop that. All fundamentalist, codified religions do it; they make a list of dos and don'ts. It's anathema against democracy," he said.

Salim said the CPI(M) would oppose any attempt to impose such restrictions, but clarified that the party would not issue any central advisory to its book-stall organisers. "The CM has taken a constitutional oath and is supposed to implement the law. Which law dictates such things to be implemented? He is only rousing religious passion, misusing the authority of his chair and the sanctity of the Assembly," he alleged.

With PTI inputs