Mamata urges scribes not to compromise with ideology

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged journalists not to compromise with their ideology.

"Ideology is not like changing garments three times a day. If ideology is gone, then the person's identity is lost," she said while inaugurating Barun Sengupta Museum off Eastern Metropolitan bypass on Wednesday evening. The three-storeyed museum has been built jointly by the state government and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).

Recalling her long association with Barun Sengupta, Banerjee said: "Barun da would never have given up his ideology. He followed a principle and did whatever he thought should be done. He was arrested and put behind the bars but never gave up his principle." She said Sengupta was always there to advise her. "Barun da would have been very happy to see us coming to power after dislodging 34 years of misrule of the Left Front government," she maintained.

Without naming the BJP, she said: "We are passing through a time when attempts are being made to gag the press. Anybody writing fearlessly is pulled up."

She urged Bartaman to take an initiative to set up a university to teach journalism exclusively. The three storeyed building will house a permanent museum on the life and work of Barun Sengupta. There are two auditoriums and a seminar hall.