Kolkata, Jan 22 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday claimed that at least 110 people have died because of stress and panic over the SIR exercise in the state so far.
Inaugurating the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair here, she said her 162nd book, a compilation of 26 poems on the agony faced by people due to the SIR exercise, will come out in this edition of the fair.
Scores of people, including elderly ones, have to line up at Special Intensive Revision (SIR) camps for hearing, and wait for five-six hours in the open every day, Banerjee said.
“Citing logical discrepancies, they (EC) are picking up issues like surnames of Bengalis which had been known and accepted for years,” the chief minister said.
“I am known as both Mamata Banerjee and Mamata Bandyopadhyay. In the same way, Chatterjee and Chattopadhyay are the same surname. Thakur also came to be known as Tagore during British rule,” she said.
Had Rabindranath Tagore been around, probably he would have faced the same situation now, Banerjee said.
Noting that any parents with multiple children are being asked to explain their age gaps, she said proof of births are demanded from elderly people.
“Our mothers cannot tell us their exact date of birth. Even (former Prime Minister Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji had told me that December 25 is not his real birthday. I have Madhyamik papers to specify my date of birth. But there are many in the earlier generations who might not have it. Why harass them?” she said.
The book fair ground becomes a confluence of humanity with several countries and visitors participating from across the world, the chief minister said. “Book fair defines our emotion, our culture. Books cannot be bound by geography.” On her pursuits of writing and painting, the CM said, “I have written 153 books. Nine more will be published in this book fair, with some of them reflecting my political experiences. One of the books is a collection of 26 poems on SIR, which will come out in the year 2026.” The TMC supremo described herself as a small-time writer and a less important person who belongs to the downtrodden.
“I don’t believe in propagating about myself. I run my expenses from the royalties of my books,” Banerjee said, adding that she does not take a single paisa from either the Rs 1.5 lakh pension as a six-time MP or her salary as the chief minister.
She said she pays every bill from her pocket for her stay at circuit houses in the country and hotels abroad.
Referring to allegations about her paintings being sold at a premium, Banerjee said, “There was a move by central agencies to investigate into exhibitions of my paintings. I scribbled and drew coloured sketches on canvas at my will, and started pursuing it on a serious note after being prodded by painter and friend Suvaprasanna.” The chief minister said, “I remember what Sri Krishna said in the Gita: Don’t always take things (abuses) lying down. I believe in what Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda had said.” She welcomed the Argentine ambassador to India, Mariano Agustin Caucino, who was present at the programme, to Kolkata.
While Argentina is the theme country of the 49th fair, several other nations including the UK, Germany, France, Australia, Spain, China and Ukraine are taking part in it. China is participating after 15 years, while for Ukraine, it is the first time. This book fair will have more than 1,000 stalls.
Voicing pride as the Kolkata Book Fair is the first in the country in terms of footfall, book sales and public participation, Banerjee said, “Our book fair is in the same league with the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, which is the biggest in the world.” In the 2025 edition of the book fair, 27 lakh people had turned up, and books worth Rs 23 crore were sold. “There is every possibility that the figures would surpass this year,” she said.
Banerjee called upon every stakeholder of the book fair to be on guard to ensure peace and warned against any effort to cause disruption by any quarters as this is the pride of the state.
Responding to an appeal by Publishers and Booksellers Guild General Secretary Trdib Chatterjee, the CM said her government will grant Rs 10 crore to the organisation for setting up a “Boi Tirtha” before the book fair enters its 50th year in 2027.
The Information and Cultural Affairs Department will provide the money. PTI SUS NN
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