State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee on Monday said theatre personality Shaoli Mitra will continue to remain as the chairperson of the West Bengal Bangla Academy. The announcement comes a day after Mitra expressed her desire to resign, citing a lack of infrastructure and difficulties in performing her duties. She had told reporters on Sunday that she recently wrote a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, informing her of the decision. Chatterjee said Mitra has reconsidered her decision. “She will continue to function at West Bengal Bangla Academy like before,” he said. When asked for her response following the minister's comments, Mitra told PTI, “While I had earlier made up my mind to leave, I will now definitely reconsider if I get a formal proposal from the government's side.” The West Bengal Bangla Academy is the official authority on Bengali language, and is responsible for reforming grammar, compiling dictionaries and promoting the language, among other things. Mitra was among those who stood by Mamata during the Nandigram and Singur agitations. She has won awards such as Padma Shri in 2009 for arts, Banga Bibhusan in 2012 for lifetime achievement in theatre and Sangit Natak Academy Award in 2003 for acting in Bengali theatre.
