The Daily Morning Voice Online Desk: Publishing house Adarsha will not participate in this year’s Amar Ekushey Boi Mela as Bangla Academy, organiser of the upcoming Amar Ekushey Book Fair, said the house would not be eligible for the lottery for allotment of stalls at the fair. The book fair management committee took the decision at a meeting yesterday evening, said a Bangla Academy press release issued today.

Bangla Academy had earlier decided not to allot any stalls to Adarsha for the book fair, and tomorrow’s lottery was the last chance for the publishing house to secure stalls. A press release signed by Mohammad Akbar Hossain, deputy director of the public relations sub-division of Bangla Academy, was issued today.

Mahbub Rahman, chief executive of Adarsha, told The Daily Star that they would go into a legal battle to fight the decision. He said, “Bangla Academy can never take any decision that is in conflict with freedom of speech. We will fight a legal battle against this decision.”