New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday received the Bangla Academy Award for her "relentless literary pursuit". The award, introduced this year by Sahitya Academy, was presented to Banerjee for her book "Kabita Bitan", which pays tribute to the best writers of West Bengal.
Banerjee was given the award at the "Ravi Pranam" function organised by the government's information and culture department on the occassion of Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary.
Despite being on the stage, Mamata Banerjee did not accept the award on her own and it was received by state Education Minister Bratya Basu on her behalf. Bratya Basu said Mamata Banerjee's name was chosen for the award by a panel of some of the best writers of Bengal.
The award will be given to those who constantly pursue literature even after working tirelessly in various other fields.
Mamata Banerjee's 'Kabita Bitan' was launched at the 2020 Kolkata Book Fair. The book contains 946 poems written by the TMC supremo.
Taking a dig at the CM over the award, BJP leader Anupam Hazra tweeted, "The poet may not be with us today, but he has left Mamata Banerjee. After Rabindranath Tagore, the only Bengali who is raising hopes of a second Nobel for literature. Note: Sometimes, she rewards herself for her own poems."
At the event, Mamata Banerjee lamented the fact that the stolen Nobel Prize of Rabindranath Tagore had not been recovered yet. Tagore received the Nobel Prize way back in 1913. On March 25, 2004, the Nobel medal was found stolen from Visva Bharati University at Bolpur-Santiniketan in Birbhum district of West Bengal.