Kolkata, Sept. 14 -- Countering the BJP's allegation that CPI(M) book stalls promote "foreign culture", a wide range of political, literary and philosophical works will be available at Left bookstalls across Bengal during this year's Durga Puja, ranging from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda.
CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim rejected Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's allegation that the stalls lacked works by Indian thinkers.
He said those making such claims "do not read books or even look at them" and questioned the BJP's authority to decide what books should be sold.
Around 20-22 new titles are being printed for the Puja season, while more than 500 book-selling stalls are expected to come up across the state. The CPI(M) said the initiative was aimed at encouraging reading, free thought and rationalism.
The National Book Agency (NBA) will offer works by Marx and Engels alongside books by Indian thinkers and writers, including Tagore, Vivekananda and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.
A new edition of Tagore's Gora is also being brought out, while a collection of Sarat Chandra's short and children's stories is planned to mark his 150th birth anniversary.
A book titled Swami Vivekananda from the Marxist Perspective will also be available.
The NBA said the book had been published and sold for several years. The list further includes works on Indian philosophy by Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya and Sukumari Bhattacharya, as well as Adi Shankaracharya and Others, edited by EMS Namboodiripad.
The CPI(M) said its stalls would promote progressive literature against communalism, religious fundamentalism and neo-fascist forces.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.