BJP won’t interfere in govt, control cultural fronts: Samik
Times of India | 30 June 2026
Kolkata: BJP will work in coordination with the state govt but won’t interfere in administrative functions nor will it exercise external control over cultural fronts, said the party’s state unit president Samik Bhattacharya on Monday.
Speaking at a meeting of publishers and booksellers convened by the BJP-aligned Bangiya Granthashilpa Parishad, Bhattacharya said: “BJP will maintain coordination with the state govt, but it won’t interfere. It won’t try to gain control over every sphere of the cultural world.”
“We are not here to impose anything on publishers. We want to work together with a fresh perspective,” he added.
The BJP state president further said the book fair should not be “monopolised by any one political party.”
“We are free to express our opinion but should also try to accommodate others. It might not be possible to accommodate all, but we must try. Bengal is bothered by divisive politics like identifying Kazi Nazrul Islam not as a litterateur but as a Muslim,” he said.
Bhattacharya also touched upon the conversation around there being a BJP-affiliated confederation in the Tollygunge film industry. “The party has not given permission for any such confederation. Those who join it may run into trouble,” he said.
BJP spokespersons however did not clarify which confederation the state president was referring to.
Talking about how Bengalis had suffered under the influence of what he described as “Left ideology”, he said: “Bengal’s culture has always been under attack. We have been identified as outsiders, migrants. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya (ex-CM) will live among us as a translator of Mayakovsky. Muzaffar Ahmed (a Left ideologue) had once said ‘Anandamath’ was full of hatred and unacceptable to a Muslim boy.”
RSS functionary Jishnu Basu, who also spoke at the meeting, said the publication industry will have to think about the needs of Gen-Z. “Does Gen-Z want to only listen to audiobooks or does it want to read printed books. Authors will have to figure out how their books will remain relevant after 15 years,” Basu said.