Minister warns Mamata over unreturned library books. Not at home, they’re in CM’s chamber: Didi
Times of India | 27 August 2026
Kolkata: Action would be taken against former CM Mamata Banerjee if she failed to return 19 books issued to her from the assembly library, warned Bengal mass education extension and library services minister Gouri Sankar Ghosh on Tuesday.
The books borrowed by Banerjee are 18 volumes of Rabindra Rachanabali and a copy of Tagore’s Sanchayita. According to the minister, the stipulated borrowing period has elapsed. Ghosh raised the issue during the 127th foundation day of Suri’s Vivekananda Library.
Pointing out that library rules apply equally to all borrowers, the minister said, “Rules will not differ for her just because she is a prominent person.” CM Suvendu Adhikari’s policy of equality before the law applies to library books as well, the minister added.
According to sources, assembly library officials have already contacted Banerjee. The former CM informed them that the books were not at her residence, but inside the chief minister’s chamber at the assembly — an office now being used by Adhikari. However, official sources said that the books cannot be recorded as returned until physically deposited at the library.
Reacting to the allegations, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “The former CM never visited the assembly library, nor did she borrow any books or bring them home. This narrative is being crafted purely to defame her. Anyone familiar with Mamata Banerjee’s personal collection knows the vast scale and diverse range of books she already owns. She has no need to borrow books from assembly. If books were indeed checked out under her name, it should be investigated who borrowed them, on whose behalf, and for what purpose. Claiming she ‘failed to return books’ without directly contacting the former CM is deeply distasteful and intended solely to demean her.”
Gouri Sankar also criticised directives issued by the Trinamool govt to state-run libraries to purchase books authored by Banerjee. Alleging that these purchases served party interests, he said, “Those Epang, Opang, Jhopang books hold no value.”
The minister said he had ordered the removal of these books from public libraries on his first day in office. State libraries will now prioritise works by national icons including Swami Vivekananda and Syama Prasad Mookerjee and focus on Indian history and nationalism, Gouri Sankar added.