Overview

• TMC leaders Bratya Basu and Kunal Ghosh accused Union minister Sukanta Majumdar of allowing portraits of Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay to be placed on the floor at a recent event and demanded an apology.
• Photographs circulated by TMC appear to show a Tagore portrait positioned below the minister’s waist from the audience’s viewpoint, which the party says reflects disrespect.
• Majumdar denied intentional insult, said the portrait was set away from the dais and only looks at his feet due to camera angle, and publicly asked TMC to share video evidence.
• TMC contrasted its stance with a recent case in Malda where a TMCP student leader who burned a Tagore portrait was suspended and arrested following police action.
• The row feeds into a broader tug-of-war over Bengali cultural icons and identity, with TMC recalling the 2019 Vidyasagar statue incident and disputes tied to Santiniketan and migrant harassment narratives.