A section of Bengal’s civil society issued a statement of protest on Wednesday, referring to the Paschim Banga Bangla Academy conferring a special award on chief minister Mamata Banerjee for her book of poems, Kabita Bitan, on Monday.

“We believe the triennial award to chief minister Mamata Banerjee for her ‘relentless pursuit of literature’ and the way it was done tarnished the dignity of the Academy and insulted the literary tradition of Bengal and is a serious misuse of government’s powers,” the statement read.

The 69 signatories include academic-author Pabitra Sarkar, art critic Samik Bandyopadhyay, authors Ratnabali Chattopadhyay, Malini Bhattacharya and Ajijul Haque, poet Mandakranta Sen and actors Rahul Arunodoy Bandyopadhyay and Joyraj Bhattacharya.

They demanded a public statement on the process the Academy followed before awarding Mamata.

Academy officials such as chairman Bratya Basu, also the state education minister, defended the decision and called the criticism “malicious”.