CPI(M) hits back at WB CM over his comments on party’s Durga Puja bookstalls
CPI(M) leaders have defended their tradition of hosting bookstalls at Durga Puja pandals following criticism from West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The Chief Minister accused the party of promoting foreign communist ideologies while neglecting Indian cultural icons, a claim the CPI(M) dismissed as an attack on democratic pluralism.
Why it matters
This highlights the ongoing political polarization in West Bengal, where cultural festivals are increasingly becoming battlegrounds for ideological and political dominance.
CPI(M) leaders on Sunday (September 13, 2026) hit back at West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari over his criticism of the party’s bookstalls at Durga Puja pandals, saying the stalls carry books on a wide range of subjects, including the lives and works of Indian icons.
Mr. Adhikari had accused the CPI(M) of selling works of "foreign" communist leaders such as Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin while ignoring Indian icons, including Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna Paramhansa, at its bookstalls during Durga Puja.
On Thursday, the Chief Minister alleged that Left leaders have deliberately been targeting the icons of Sanatan Dharma. He also appealed to Durga Puja committees not to allow any Left-affiliated bookstalls near pandals during the festival, which would boast the word ‘Sharodotsav’ (festival of autumn) instead of Durga Puja.
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