Library and mass education minister Gouri Sankar Ghosh on Thursday criticised the practice of keeping books authored by Mamata Banerjee in state libraries and said he would request chief minister Suvendu Adhikari to initiate a probe into the “misuse of government funds” for purchasing books authored by the former chief minister.

“All libraries were forced to purchase books written by the former chief minister and were mandated to keep them on their shelves. It was a serious case of misappropriation of government funds. We will rearrange the shelves to have books that could benefit students and youth. Her (Mamata’s) books are of little use to students and youths. That is why we will remove those books from the libraries and replace them with important books that will help shape and educate students and youths,” Ghosh, who took charge of the department as a cabinet minister on Thursday, told The Telegraph.

BJP leaders have repeatedly alleged that the previous government had misused public funds by compelling libraries to purchase Mamata’s books.

The BJP government has said it will try to reform the education system in Bengal and the library and mass education department will play a significant role in the process.

Bengal has around 2,800 government libraries. During the tenure of the Trinamool Congress government, these libraries, once the backbone of education for the rural population, allegedly fell into neglect. Most libraries have been suffering from a shortage of quality books, poor maintenance and inadequate staffing, distancing people from a reading culture that Bengal’s students and youths had embraced for decades.

After Mamata came to power in 2011, a practice was quietly introduced under which libraries were required to purchase books authored by her and accord them priority placement on their shelves. Every year, the Trinamool government granted funds to the libraries to buy books, but a large share of it was allegedly used to purchase books written by the then-chief minister.

Educationists and teachers questioned the purchase of Mamata’s books at the cost of other relevant titles that could help students acquire knowledge and prepare for competitive examinations.

On various occasions, Mamata had claimed to have authored nearly 162 books, including collections of poems, essays and works on different subjects. The release of her books became a regular feature at Calcutta book fairs from 2014 onwards.

BJP leaders had also criticised Mamata over the naming of her books. They often referred to the names of her two books — Kabitabitan and Kathanjali — that closely resemble Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitabitan and Gitanjali. The poet won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for Gitanjali.

Ghosh said instead of stocking hundreds of copies of Mamata’s books, he would reorganise library shelves with books that would genuinely help young readers.

“Works on personalities who played a significant
role in shaping modern Bengal, including Syama Prasad Mookerjee, have not been given adequate space
in libraries. Books on Bengal’s history, renaissance and nationalism would now find a place in state libraries under Bengal’s first BJP government,” he said.

Apart from the library and mass education department, Ghosh is also the cabinet minister for the backward classes welfare department.