KOLKATA: The decision of Bangla language academy in West Bengal to confer a special award on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hasn’t gone down well with the literary personalities in the state. Ratna Rashid Banerjee, a Bengali folk researcher and writer, said she was returning an award given by the Pashimbanga Bangla Academy to protest its decision to give special award to Mamata for her “contributions to literature”.
Ratna returned the Annada Shankar Smarak Samman, which she was conferred on her by the academy, saying she felt “insulted” by the academy’s move to give award to the CM. The special award, introduced this year, was announced for the chief minister’s book Kabita Bitan, a collection of over 900 poems.
Chairman Basu said the academy has decided to reward those who have been “working tirelessly for the betterment of literature” as well as other segments of society.