Kolkata bookstall attacks during Durga Puja have triggered allegations of vandalism, forced closures and unequal permission practices by the Communist parties and other Left groups, with the parties accusing political opponents and the police of obstructing their stalls at several locations.
The latest incident was reported at Kamar Danga in Tangra on Friday, when the state committee of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) alleged that its bookstall outside a puja pandal was attacked. The party said its stall hoarding was torn down and books on Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Khudiram Bose and SUCI leader Shibdas Ghosh were ripped apart and thrown onto the road.
According to a statement issued by SUCI state committee member Samarendra Pratihar, Suraj Kumar Singh and Abhijit Gupta, accompanied by supporters, arrived when the party began setting up the stall and allegedly created a disturbance. The party said veteran labour movement leader Tapan Mukherjee was injured during the incident. It also said local residents supported the affected workers and that the situation returned to normal after the police arrived.
The allegations follow a public dispute over the Kamar Danga Durga Puja organisers’ reported decision not to allow Left bookstalls in front of the pandal. The report said a call described as “annihilating the Left” had earlier been issued in the name of the Kamar Danga Durga Utsav Committee, prompting anger among some local residents. The claims about the call and the attack were reported by Sangbad Pratidin from statements by SUCI representatives; an independent police account was not included in the report.
SUCI also alleged that restrictions were imposed at other locations. In Baranagar, the party said it had traditionally operated three stalls but received police permission for only one this year. It said the stall on Tobin Road was later removed by the police, who allegedly cited pressure from higher authorities. The party further claimed that permission was denied for a table-only stall at Wireless More in Regent Park and that a police-approved stall at Phoolbagan More in Beleghata was also forcibly closed.
The Left parties said a stall in James Long-Kadamtala East Para in Behala was attacked and damaged by a group of motorcyclists on Friday evening. The report also carried allegations that a member was removed from a Communist Party of India bookstall outside the State Bank of India in Dhakuria and that a stall in Jorasanko was vandalised.
Earlier in the week, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and other Left groups had alleged attacks on stalls in Bijpur, Naihati, Noapara and Palta in North 24 Parganas. The Left leadership blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party for three of those incidents, but the report did not include a response from the BJP.
The parties described the alleged attacks as an assault not only on Left organisations but also on the public circulation of books and ideas. The immediate questions for local administration remain whether permissions were issued consistently, what grounds were used to remove authorised stalls, and what action was taken after the reported incidents. The supplied report does not detail any police case, arrest or formal administrative order connected with the allegations.
