Right-wing group member files complaint against West Bengal poet for ‘hurting religious sentiments’

A member of a right-wing organisation has filed a police complaint against West Bengal-based poet Srijato Bandopadhyay for “hurting religious sentiments”, The New Indian Express reported on Tuesday. The complainant, Arnab Sarkar, has demanded Bandopadhyay’s arrest on the grounds that his poem Curse had a derogatory reference to the trishul, a symbol of Hinduism.

The poem also includes an apparent reference to a controversial comment believed to have been made by a supporter of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath. A translation of a line from the poem reads, “As long as women are raped after being excavated from their graves, condoms should be worn on trishuls”.

Sarkar, however, told Hindustan Times that his objection was not political. “I have reservations about the last line of the poem where he makes derogatory remarks about the trishul, which is a symbol of the Hindu religion,” he said. The complainant told The News Indian Express said that while he was a member of the Hindu Samhati, he had filed the plaint in his individual capacity.

President of the Hindu Samhati Tapan Ghosh told Hindustan Times, “The poem is written on the basis of false information against the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. We will not remain silent on this issue. We will go to court if police fail to take action.

The poet told IANS that the complaint was a sign of “rising intolerance” in the country. “I will not give much importance to the issue. The majority of people in this country believe in freedom of speech...Some of the comments made against me are dangerous threats. These people, the so-called flag bearers of Hindutva, never read poems, and I do not expect them to understand,” Bandopadhyay told Hindustan Times.

The general diary complaint was filed at the Cyber Crime Police Station of northern West Bengal’s Siliguri Police Commissionerate on Monday.