‘Write Durga Puja, not Sharodotsav’: Suvendu takes a dig at CPI(M) bookstalls

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, during his Assembly speech, criticized the CPI (M) and other Left parties in a sharp rebuke. The speech focused on the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) Amendment Bill, which aims to enable the state government to transfer employees between universities.

Various teacher associations and academics had raised concerns over the proposed move. Adhikari warned that if teachers did not approve of their transfer, they could quit their jobs and become "party wholetimers" selling "Ganashakti" with a "jhola" (bag) on their shoulders. He also criticized the Left's use of the term "Sharodotsav" instead of "Durga Puja" and urged Puja committees to allow the CPI (M) to set up Marxist book stalls with "Durga Puja" written on the banners.

Adhikari further accused the Left of using the "Red Salute to Kishenji" and "Free Palestine" slogans, vowing to respond with "Subhas Chandra Bose's language, not Gandhiji's". He also defended the Bill by pointing out that nine universities established during the Trinamool Congress era lacked permanent faculty, and that the initiative aimed to elevate the standards of weaker universities.

The Opposition's defeat in the recent West Bengal Assembly elections was attributed to the disrespect shown towards the saffron color.