NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, in her long-struggled resentment and legal battle against Election Commission’s exercise special intensive revision, has now adopted a literary form of protest, going an unusual way, authoring 26 poems on the issue that has been the cause of trouble for her.The poems in the book titled SIR: 26 in 26 feature striking titles such as Panic, Doom, Mockery, Fight, Democracy and Who Is To Blame. The collection was released on January 22 at the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair.In the introduction, Banerjee dedicates the book to “those who have lost their lives in this ruinous game”, alleging that a “relentless campaign of fear” has been unleashed on the people of Bengal. She writes that the poems emerge from a “spirit of resistance”.“How long do we stay silent still? Silence does not mean peace—it means lives are falling, dripping away to nothing,” reads the poem titled Doom.“We want answers. And answers will be given in people’s court,” it adds.Another poem titled Morgue alleges that “democracy is being beaten, scrubbed raw”, and claims that protest itself has fallen into the grip of “agency-raj”.During an informal interaction with journalists on the sidelines of a press conference, the West Bengal chief minister said she wrote the book in just three days while travelling.With 163 published books to her credit, Banerjee said she does not draw a pension as a former MP and has also forgone her salary as chief minister. She claimed that her personal expenses are met through royalties earned from her books and other creative works.The Trinamool Congress founder is known for her wide-ranging creative pursuits. She has written across genres including poetry, short stories, essays and political commentary.She is also a painter, with many of her works exhibited in India and internationally. In addition, she has composed songs and written lyrics on a wide range of topics, from social themes and nature to human emotions.She also recently traveled to New Delhi to register her reservations over the ongoing SIR exercise by the Election Commission and to meet chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee met CEC Kumar and two other election commissioners at the EC office in Delhi to discuss the issue. According to reports, the meeting ended abruptly after Banerjee slammed the table and walked out.Meanwhile, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said the party is also considering moving a motion to impeach CEC Gyanesh Kumar over the manner in which the poll body is conducting the SIR exercise in West Bengal and other states.
