Bengal: Some Intellectuals Refuse To Meet Amit Shah At Upcoming Event, BJP Says ‘Hundreds’ Others Will Come

Some eminent personalities in Kolkata’s art or culture circuit have refused to attend an event where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah is set to speak on writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s life, The Hindu has reported.

According to the report, big names including former Judge Ashok Ganguly, activist Santosh Rana, theatre stars Rudraprasad Sengupta, Chandan Sen and Manoj Mitra, and painter Samir Aich have refused to attend the event.

Actor Soumitra Chatterjee is not attending the event because of his “displeasure at the demonetisation and the party’s politics of targeting communities,” the report quotes Chatterjee’s associate as saying.

“He wanted to know more about our work and then invited me to the programme on Bankim Chandra. I found it exciting, but told him I can’t attend,” playwright and theatre director Manoj Mitra said, according to the report.

Shah had last month launched the BJP’s 'Sampark se Samarthan' programme to reach out to people ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election. In West Bengal on a two-day tour, he is likely to meet a large number of people to talk about the Modi government’s achievements in the last four years.

BJP leaders say they are confident “hundreds” of eminent personalities from Kolkata will participate in the event. Although the party has refused to name those attending the meet, a report in the Hindustan Times says at least 150 college and university teachers, six former vice-chancellors and members of families of freedom fighters will be present when Shah speaks.

Commenting on the issue, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said celebrities are not the only intellectuals in West Bengal.

“We’ll tell Shah that most of the celebrated intellectuals prefer staying close to those in power. Moreover, celebrities are not the only intellectuals. There are teachers, researchers, engineers, doctors and former army men who influence people. We are getting in touch with them,” Ghosh was quoted as saying.