Kolkata: Book sales at stalls set up near Durga Puja pandals by various Left parties—including the CPM, CPI(ML) Liberation, and SUCI—spiked manifold this year, coinciding with reports of vandalism, arson, and books being thrown onto the streets across the city and the state.At the Jadavpur 8B bus stand, where a bulldozer attempted to demolish book stalls on Saturday before facing resistance from locals, the CPM stall recorded sales worth Rs 16 lakh—a nearly fourfold increase from last year’s Rs 4.5 lakh. Meanwhile, the stall set up by the All India Students’ Association (AISA) at the same location recorded sales of Rs 80,000, up from Rs 50,000 last year, according to AISA state president Ritam Maji.The only total casualty was the SUCI (Communist) stall, which was pulled down around midnight. However, its sales still surged after volunteers resumed operations using makeshift tables and chairs. The Jadavpur SUCI stall sold books worth Rs 75,000, compared to Rs 55,000 in 2025. The APDR moved the Calcutta High Court on Thursday against the demolition of a book stall near Jadavpur Super Market, demanding accountability and compensation; the matter will be heard on October 29.CPI(ML) Liberation was not allowed to set up its stall at Dhakuria. However, party sources said books worth Rs 25,000 were sold from its Moulali stall—almost double last year’s figures. CPM state committee member Sudip Sengupta said: “Despite the attacks on bookstalls, we have noticed a surge in sales. Apart from the Jadavpur 8B bus stand stall, our stall at Bagbazar Sarbajonin also received a great response, generating Rs 4.5 lakh this year compared to around Rs 1.5 lakh last year. At Bijoygarh, books worth Rs 1.3 lakh were sold, while our Netaji Nagar stall generated Rs 2.2 lakh.”Kallol Majumdar, CPM Kolkata district secretary, said that out of 119 bookstalls set up by the CPM in Kolkata this Puja, over 30 faced disruptions or were vandalised. Stalls were attacked in Rashbehari, Lake Market, Behala, Haridevpur, Nagerbazar, Boral, Howrah, and Siliguri, among other places, he added.A video from Nagerbazar went viral on social media showing right-wing supporters vandalising a CPM stall and throwing books—including Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Pather Dabi—onto the ground.Seventy-three-year-old Bipul Dasgupta, a CPM whole-timer, was seen urging the youths to flip through the pages before discarding them, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.SUCI (Communist) state secretary Chandidas Bhattacharya said: “Despite attacks on hundreds of stalls across districts, overall sales have increased by 40% to 50% compared to last year.”Senior BJP and RSS leaders have also spoken out against damaging books.BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said no genuine party worker could carry out such an act, emphasizing that the vandalism of Left bookstalls cannot be supported under any circumstances. State finance minister Swapan Dasgupta remarked: “If it were an isolated incident, I could understand; but the fact that the same thing happened in three or four places makes me bow my head in shame.” Bengal RSS spokesperson Jishnu Basu said: “Those who destroy bookstalls to display muscle power do not understand India, its culture of tolerance and acceptance, or its commitment to freedom of expression.”Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari also weighed in on the debate. “We are not against books. However, those who do not follow Sanatani rituals or participate in Durga Puja still set up stalls near the pandals. The police and KMC acted in accordance with the order issued by the Calcutta High Court. I appeal to everyone not to take the law into their own hands. This party has already lost its relevance; do not do anything that makes them relevant again,” he said.Adhikari added that Left parties should sell their literature from inside their party offices. “It is better not to allow those who do not believe in Durga Puja—or any puja for that matter—and who do not acknowledge the Vedas, Upanishads, and Gita, to sell books during the festival. Keep your books inside the party office. Whoever wants information can go there and get it.”Trinamool Congress MLA Kunal Ghosh and West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar, visited the Left stalls to express solidarity and buy books.
