Amidst protests from artists and intellectuals after a play was stopped by the administration from being staged at Bansberia, in the Hoogly district, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today hastily tried to salvage the situation and issued a statement condemning the high handedness of his own administration.
His party, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) also joined him in condemning the act.
Incidentally, the district administration informed that they had acted upon a complaint made by former CPI(M) member of parliament (MP)Rupchand Pal.
According to the district administration, Rupchand Pal had complained that the play was being used as a ploy to campaign against the CPI(M). ‘Pacnham Vaidik’ a group theatre in Kolkata has been successfully producing this play where noted stage personality Saoli Mitra is the lead actor.
Ever since the group first produced this play in Kolkata, it faced opposition from the CPI (M) party organisation.
Orwell's Animal Farm is a strong political satire and critical of Stalin’s dictatorship. The CPI (M) in Bengal did not take it lightly to the Bengali version of Animal Farm and took it to be an attack on their political culture. Earlier also, the play was not allowed to be staged on various occasions in the state.
