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I am unaware of Chhatradhar's Maoist identity: Mahasweta
As the West Bengal government insists that arrested PCPA leader Chhatradhar Mahato has links with Maoists, Magsaysay awardee writer Mahasweta Devi today said she was not aware of his Maoist connections.
As the West Bengal government insists that arrested PCPA leader Chhatradhar Mahato has links with Maoists, Magsaysay awardee writer Mahasweta Devi today said she was not aware of his Maoist connections.
"I am unaware whether Chhatradhar is a Maoist. Once, he came to my house with a group of women and crew of a TV channel. When I was told that the women were Maoists, I drove away all of them, including Chhatradhar," she told PTI.
Mahasweta said she had, however, met Mahato several times but "in all the meetings, I asked him to campaign against SEZs, or to demand ration cards for the poor."
On Sunday, the writer had said the intellectuals would organise a rally in the city in support of Mahato.
Yesterday, asked whether intellectuals like Mahasweta Devi would be arrested for their reported links with Mahato, state Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen had evaded a direct reply, saying if evidence was found of anyone's association with Mahato, he or she would be questioned.
