This is not the change we wanted: Bengal intellectuals

Kolkata, April 17 (IANS) Expressing concern over instances of "police excesses" in West Bengal, a section of human rights activists and intellectuals Tuesday said people were fast losing trust on the Mamata Banerjee government.

"She (Banerjee) had always said 'we want change and not revenge'. Then why there is revenge now? Why the government is cracking down on whoever is trying to raise issues of concern," said poet and educationist Tarun Sanyal.

"This is not the change we wanted. She is now tolerating the same atrocities against which she had once fought," he added.

Some of the activists and intellectuals who had backed Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress in her fight against the Left Front said they were now "disillusioned with the new regime".

"Before the polls, Banerjee had promised to unconditionally release political prisoners. The government is now almost a year old but she is still to act on the promise. Only a few of the prisoners have been freed till now," Choton Das of Bandi Mukti Committee - a civil rights organisation, said.

Socialist Unity Centre of India-Communist (SUCI-C) lawmaker Tarun Kanti Naskar said the government has betrayed the faith which the people had entrusted on it.

"With great expectations people had reposed their faith on the new government. But with time they have started to get disillusioned," he said.

The activists and intellectuals also took out a silent march in protest of number of issues including the arrest of Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra for allegedly circulating "defamatory" cartoons targeting Banerjee.

Eminent author and activist Mahasweta Devi who could not be physically present at the occasion, through a letter urged all not give so much attention to the cartoon issue.