A dispute over political book stalls has intensified across Kolkata and adjoining areas, with Left parties alleging that police, civic officials and supporters of the BJP removed or damaged stalls during the festive period. The BJP has denied the allegations, calling them an attempt to malign the party.
According to a report by Bartaman Patrika, incidents were reported from Jadavpur, Dhakuria, Kasba, Barasat, Dum Dum, Kestopur and parts of the Barrackpore industrial belt. The Left parties alleged that several stalls were dismantled or forcibly removed, while some book-selling activities continued through marches and public demonstrations.
The most prominent confrontation was reported at Jadavpur’s 8B area, where police and civic officials allegedly arrived at a stall run by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the student organisation AISA. CPI(M) leader Sudip Sengupta reportedly told the police that the organisers would not close the stall. A bulldozer later arrived at the site, according to the report, but Left workers and supporters prevented it from proceeding.
CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty also reportedly argued with police officials at the location. He questioned whether the officials had brought any written order authorising the removal of the stall and criticised the administration for creating tension during the puja period. The report does not provide details of any municipal notice, police order or court direction connected with the alleged action.
Left parties also alleged that stalls operated by the CPI(M), Communist Party of India and CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation were removed in Dhakuria by corporation and police personnel. The Socialist Unity Centre of India alleged that its stall in the Babubagan area was dismantled by police and that books from its Kestopur stall were thrown into a canal.
The report further cited allegations of attacks by BJP supporters at Chapadali More and Colony More in Barasat and at Nagerbazar in Dum Dum. Left leaders claimed that a stall at Chapadali More was broken while slogans associated with the BJP were being raised. The BJP rejected these allegations and said its name was being used to spread defamation. A clash between supporters of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and CPI(M) workers was also reported at Nagerbazar on Saturday evening.
The controversy has extended beyond Kolkata. Stalls in Jethia and Garifa in the Naihati Assembly constituency were reportedly damaged late on Friday night, while similar incidents were alleged at several locations in the Barrackpore industrial area on Saturday. In response, CPI(M) workers organised marches and sold books in Bansdroni and the Regent Park police station area.
The dispute places police and civic administration at the centre of a wider question about how temporary public stalls are authorised, regulated and removed in busy urban spaces. The available report records competing political claims but does not establish whether the removals were based on documented civic violations, formal notices or enforcement orders. No independent administrative clarification was cited in the report.
