Agnihotri's tweet on change of book-signing event venue sparks row in Bengal

Kolkata: A Twitter message by 'The Kashmir Files' director Vivek Agnihotri regarding the shifting of the venue of his book-signing event in Kolkata has created controversy in West Bengal.

In his Twitter message issued around 1.30 p.m. on Thursday, Agnihotri stated that the original venue being located in the minority- dominated pocket in Kolkata might not be safe for the event.

"KOLKATA: ATTENTION: This is to inform that due to security reasons the venue of the book signing of #UrbanNaxals has been shifted from Quest Mall to Starmark Book Shop, South City Mall. I'm informed that since Quest Mall is a Muslim Area it's not safe. The tragedy of modern Bengal," he claimed.

The ruling Trinamool Congress leadership has claimed the film director is deliberately spreading false messages as a part of his cheap propaganda tactics. According to them, his observation about the location of the venue is highly objectionable.

This is not the first time that 'The Kashmir Files' director has attacked the state government on similar issues. Earlier last month, while speaking at a seminar here on 'India's Heritage: From Kashmir to Bengal', Agnihotri claimed many parts of the eastern state "have turned into Mini Kashmir".

He also said that West Bengal has become a hotbed for corruption, cheap dialogues and communal violence.

"How can I forget how I was physically targeted at Jadavpur University for my film 'Buddha in a Traffic Jam'? I made an attempt to make a film on the 1946 communal riots in Bengal for which I had sent a team of researchers to interview some survivors who witnessed those riots. But they were not allowed to work here," Agnihotri said last month.