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Bengal theatre group denied hall for festival after play criticises TMC govt
The controversial play– ‘Jogakhichuri’, which focuses on irregularities in the mid-day meal scheme for school children, was staged in the form of a street act at Esplanade in central Kolkata, where state government employees are staging a sit-in demonstration demanding 46% DA instead of 6%
A theatre group from West Bengal’s Nadia district has alleged that the government withdrew permission to use a hall for its four-day festival hours after it staged a play in Kolkata on Thursday at the site of the agitation being held by state employees demanding dearness allowance (DA) at the rate given by the Centre.
The controversial play– ‘Jogakhichuri’, which focuses on irregularities in the mid-day meal scheme for school children, was staged in the form of a street act at Esplanade in central Kolkata, where state government employees are staging a sit-in demonstration demanding 46% DA instead of 6%, which they currently get after a 3% hike in March.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee told the legislative assembly in March that her government cannot give more DA because of the cash crunch.
The Union education ministry has alleged misuse of funds sent to Bengal for the Centre-sponsored Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) scheme for children. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has raised similar allegations regarding the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) which provides a home to the rural poor, supply of piped water under the Jal Jeevan Mission and rural employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).
Members of the theatre group– Natyajan, have alleged that the Kalyani town municipality in Nadia district informed them through an e-mail on Thursday that their booking for the Ritwik Bhawan auditorium from November 23 to 26 had to be cancelled because of a government-affiliated event and the deposit money would be refunded.
Suman Pal, secretary of Natyajan, said: “Our festival would have featured six plays by famous film and theatre director Debesh Chattopadhyay. The sequence of events is significant. We have already sold tickets worth more than one lakh rupees. Hoardings have been put up. Our booking was cancelled hours after we staged a play focused on contemporary issues such as mid-day meal and school education.”
Denying the allegation, Nilimesh Roychoudhury, chairman of Kalyani municipality, told the media that the booking was cancelled because local self-help groups would hold their annual fair at the auditorium from November 19 to 29.
“Even Trinamool Congress (TMC) wanted the hall for a social event on November 19 but was denied permission. Those who book the auditorium are always told in advance that their booking might be cancelled if something more important comes up,” Roychoudhury said.
TMC general secretary Kunal Ghosh said, “It is pointless connecting everything to politics. The civic body took an administrative decision.”
The issue has prompted several theatre groups and stage personalities to react.
Sarit Chakraborty, secretary of Paschimbanga Ganashanskrity Parishad issued a statement on Friday, saying, “Theatre is among those art forms that present reality before the masses. It questions the anti-people actions of governments. That is why art forms become targets of autocratic subjugation.”
Veteran thespian Pradip Bhattacharya, who acted in the play on Thursday, said, “Even Hitler and Mussolini could not kill the freedom of expression. This fight has been going on for centuries.”
The BJP Bharatiya Janata Party is supporting the agitation for a hike in DA.
Bengal BJP chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “How can a theatre group expect to stage anti-government plays at a government auditorium? It is natural that they will not be permitted.”
