Posters urging citizens to buy goods, meat and even biryani from Hindu-owned shops appeared across north Bengal’s Siliguri town on Sunday, triggering a political row.
“I cannot believe that posters asking people to buy meat and even biryani only from shops owned by Hindus could ever appear in West Bengal,” Santosh Roy, a Siliguri resident said.
Former CPI(M) minister Asok Bhattacharya, who also served as Siliguri mayor, demanded police action. “Putting up such posters is a crime in a secular, democratic nation. If people support businesses run by Hindus, it will also impact the local economy. “They (the Manch) must have thought of something before doing this. We are not a part of it.
The administration should not only remove the posters but also arrest those behind this communal campaign,” Bhattacharya said. Hindu Jagaran Manch member Abhishek Das, who is carrying out the campaign with others, said, “This is not a diktat but an appeal. Union minister of state for education Sukanta Majumdar told the media that the Hindu Jagaran Manch is an independent organisation and his party was not involved in any such campaign. However, it is always up to the people to decide which shops they will visit,” Majumdar said.
