Mamata govt cancels Kolkata auditorium booking for Mohan Bhagwat event

The authorities of the Kolkata auditorium has cancelled the booking for an event where RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was slated to deliver a speech, organisers of the event alleged on Tuesday.

Kolkata: The authorities of the state-run auditorium in Kolkata has cancelled the booking for an event where RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was slated to deliver a speech on October 3.

The move to cancel the booking was condemned by RSS but the auditorium authorities cited renovation and as the reasons behind the cancellation of the auditorium booking.

The authorities said repair work would be undertaken around that time in the auditorium and therefore the facility cannot be provided due to safety and security reasons. 

The bookings for other organisations during that time have also been cancelled. 

The Sister Nivedita Mission Trust, which booked the Mahajati Sadan auditorium for the 150th birth anniversary celebrations committee, claimed that the auditorium authorities had accepted the booking in June. 

Speaking to The Indian Express, General Secretary of the Trust, Rantideb Sengupta, said the auditorium authorities cancelled the booking last Thursday despite completion of all formalities on their part.

"We had booked the auditorium in July after making the payment. We also paid another Rs 1,150 as part of the booking as October 3 is a holiday. We even intimated Joint CP Headquarters of Kolkata Police about our event. Suddenly, on August 31, authorities of Mahajati Sadan told us that the booking was cancelled. They told us to get a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Kolkata Police. While we were about to obtain the NOC from police, the authorities on September 1 informed us that the auditorium was unavailable as it would be under maintenance in the first week of October," said Sengupta.

Authorities of Mahajati Sadan were unavailable for comments.

The organiser of the event, however, said the event will now be held at a different venue and on the same day. "We are looking for an alternative venue to hold the event," Sengupta added.