Police complaint against West Bengal poet for 'hurting Hindu sentiments'

Kolkata A Hindutva group has lodged a police complaint against noted poet Srijato Bandyopadhyay for allegedly hurting "Hindu sentiments and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath" in a Facebook post. "We have received a complaint from one Arnab Sarkar last night. He accused Srijato of hurting Hindu sentiments in a Facebook post," an official of Siliguri police station cyber cell said.

Bandyopadhyay had posted a 12-line poem on his Facebook page on March 19, the day Yogi Adityanath was sworn as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. "He has hurt the feelings of each an every Hindu through the use of distasteful words against the community. I have strong reservations about the last line of the poem where he makes derogatory remarks about trishul and Yogi Adityanath," Sarkar, a member of 'Hindu Samhati', told reporters.

Reacting to the police complaint, Bandyopadhyay said, "It is really sad that in a country like India, which has been known for his democratic values, the right to freedom of speech and expression is shrinking fast. The majority of people in this country believe in freedom of speech."

"Since the poem was posted, I was trolled on Facebook and some of the comments made were very dangerous and threatening in nature," he said. Tapan Ghosh, President of Hindu Samhati, said that the poem was written on the basis of false information and if the police failed to take action they would move court.

State BJP President Dilip Ghosh supported the 'Hindu Samhati' and said "poets like Srijato don't have any acceptance in the society. They try to stay afloat and remain relevant by writing such useless stuff."

"Without knowing Yogi and his administrative capability, how can someone write such derogatory poem about him," Ghosh wondered.

Poet Joy Goswami, however, stood by Srijato and said "he was expressing his thoughts through his poem. I have read the poem which has triggered so much controversy, but I like it." Noted writer Srishendu Mukhopadhyay also echoed Goswami's views.

"It is not right to threaten police action if someone is opposed to your views. There have been similar cases in different parts of the country," Mukhopadhyay said.