Kolkata, 2 September (H.S.).

The postponement of a cultural event featuring noted poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar by the West Bengal Urdu Academy has triggered a political storm, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government of succumbing to pressure from fundamentalist groups.

The four-day programme was scheduled to begin on August 31, with Akhtar as the chief guest. However, the academy announced its postponement citing “unavoidable circumstances.” Sources revealed that the Kolkata unit of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind had objected to Akhtar’s participation and formally communicated its opposition to the organisers. The outfit’s local general secretary, Zillur Rahman Arif, reportedly raised objections to his invitation.

Reacting strongly, Union Minister of State for Education and former Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar alleged appeasement politics. In a post on X, he wrote,

“Is this the inevitable result of unchecked appeasement, where the diktat of fundamentalists becomes final? Only the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, can answer this question.”

Majumdar further claimed that the state government had bowed to communal pressure, saying it was “shocking that such hardline forces could oppose even the entry of an iconic poet like Javed Akhtar into Bengal.”

The controversy has provided fresh ammunition to the BJP, which has long accused the Trinamool Congress government of minority appeasement.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh