Brinda terms Mamata regime 'tyrant'

CPI(M) Politbureau member Brinda Karat today described as 'tyranny' the abrupt cancellation of the release of a book on atrocities against women written by eminent feminist Jasodhara Bagchi in the Kolkata Book Fair.

"Nari Nirjantan Pratirodh Mancha" (Forum against the Oppression of Women) had planned the release of the Bengali book "Parajayee Nari" yesterday but the Book Fair authorities cancelled it claiming that it has political connotations.

"It's undemocratic.... The unfortunate incident clearly shows that the Mamata Banerjee regime in West Bengal is tyrant. It is condemnable to gag intellectuals," Brinda told reporters here.

It was the first time in the history of West Bengal that such 'censorship' had taken place, she claimed. Brinda, however, did not equate the incident with the similar situations faced by writers Taslima Nasreen and Salman Rushdie several times. "I will not compare it (with other incidents)," she added.

Taslima Nasreen's book release was cancelled by the book fair authorities in 2012 following protest by Muslim fundamentalists, while Rushdie's video-chat was cancelled by the Jaipur Literature Festival authorities the same year.

Referring to the recent rape incidents in West Bengal, Brinda said, "There is a sense of insecurity among the women in the state. Given a free and fair elections, the people would vote out the Trinamool Congress."