On February 7, Author Tuhin A Sinha said on the social media platform Twitter that his scheduled participation at Kolkata Literature Festival for February 10 has been cancelled at the last minute allegedly due to pressure from All India Trinamool Congress (TMC).
In a tweet, he said, “My presence at @kolkataboimela on 10 Feb has been suddenly cancelled under pressure from @AITCofficial govt. This, was after the organisers, had posted about the event yesterday on social media platforms. This gross intolerance n Taliban mindset towards a political adversary is shameful.” Sinha is the national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
As per the author, his participation was scheduled for February 10, 2023, and it was confirmed via email on January 10, 2023. The Kolkata Literature Festival is scheduled for February 9 to February 11 as part of the Kolkata Book Fair or Boi Mela. His tickets were also booked by the organisers that he received via email on February 4.
Speaking to OpIndia, Tuhin said he was informed about the cancellation via phone call. He further said, “I have had to cancel another event because of the sudden change.” He was scheduled to speak at the School of Media and Communication, Kolkata, on February 10.
Expressing his dismay over the sudden cancellation, Tuhin A Sinha said, “This was not a political event. This was a purely literary event and that too to promote a specific work of mine which is the ‘Great Tribal Warriors of Bharat’. The book is of great relevance to our Tribal community and by abandoning this event, Mamata Banerjee has shown her anti-Tribal mindset. Because, these were the same people who were opposed to Draupadi Murmu ji, the first Tribal lady to become the President and now once again it has exposed the anti-Tribal mindset of the Mamata Banerjee government.” “I will now go to Kolkata for a public event only after TMC is packed off from power,” he added.
Netizens react to the cancellation
Following the tweet by Sinha, several netizens reacted to the cancellation. Editor-in-chief of Jan Ki Baat Pradeep Bhandari said, “Intolerance & Cancel culture at the display. Had this happened in any Saffron Ruled state, the entire global community would have shouted Fascism.”
Author Ratan Sharda said, “Are we surprised? Afterall #MamataBanerjee & #TMC is known for their love for #FreedomOfExpression”
Author Aabhas Maldahiyar said, “Where the mind is without fear & the head is held high, Where knowledge is free, Where the world has not been broken up into fragments, By narrow domestic walls… here the clear stream of reason has not lost its way… There lived a Tagore where now lives Mamata Banerjee.”
OpIndia has mailed to the organisers for comments. We will update the story accordingly.