Former Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee confronted a hostile reception at Halisahar in North 24 Parganas district on Sunday when protesters surrounded her automobile, shouted ‘chor’ (thief) and ‘dakait rani’ (queen of thieves) slogans, and allegedly hurled mud, slippers and stones at her automotive as she went to satisfy the household of a deceased TMC employee.
Banerjee, who was visiting the household of a TMC employee who allegedly died in police custody, was pressured to move by way of a police cordon because the demonstration briefly turned the highway right into a charged political theatre, with the rival sides buying and selling allegations of conspiracy, provocation and administrative failure.
“My automotive has been attacked with stones, sneakers and dust. That is nothing however a conspiracy. I had knowledgeable the police that I might be coming, however regardless of that, no safety measures have been taken,” Banerjee informed reporters after reaching the realm.
The previous chief minister alleged that giant bricks have been additionally thrown at her automobile.
“My head might have been smashed. I might have died right here,” she stated, accusing the BJP-led state authorities of utilizing “goons” to focus on her.
Banerjee additionally skilled her weapons on Chief Minister and House Minister Suvendu Adhikari, saying she had no specific anger towards the police however alleging that the drive was getting used on the behest of the state authorities.
“The police are defending the lumpens. Bengal has gone into the palms of lumpens,” she stated, including that her celebration would pursue the matter legally.
The BJP, nevertheless, accused Banerjee of coming to Kanchrapara to “provoke” tensions and stated native folks had protested towards her presence.
The confrontation added a brand new edge to the more and more adversarial political environment in West Bengal, the place Banerjee and senior TMC leaders have confronted public protests throughout current visits.
The most recent incident got here two months after Banerjee confronted “chor-chor” slogans exterior the Calcutta Excessive Courtroom in June as she emerged from the premises.
Her nephew and TMC nationwide common secretary Abhishek Banerjee too encountered a hostile reception throughout a go to to Sonarpur the identical month, when protesters allegedly pelted his convoy with eggs and raised comparable slogans.
The Halisahar episode, subsequently, was not merely one other roadside protest. It unfolded throughout a politically delicate go to by Banerjee to the household of a TMC employee whose dying in police custody has change into a recent flashpoint between the ruling institution and the opposition camp.
The deceased, recognized as Birju Keot, husband of former Kanchrapara municipal councillor Jeni Sharma Keot, had been arrested by Halisahar police in reference to allegations together with extortion. He was produced earlier than a court docket on Friday, which remanded him in police custody for 5 days. His dying was reported on Saturday.
His spouse has alleged that he was crushed contained in the lock-up and died on account of police assault. There was no instant response from the police to the allegation.
Banerjee visited the household on Sunday and accused the state authorities of permitting legislation and order to deteriorate.
The political symbolism of her go to was amplified by the response on the streets. As her automobile moved by way of the realm, protesters gathered round it, forcing safety personnel to type a human protect. Mud and footwear landed on the automobile whereas slogans towards Banerjee hire the air.
TMC spokesperson Krishanu Mitra condemned the incident, describing the alleged pelting of stones and dust at Banerjee’s automobile as “extraordinarily ugly and condemnable”. He linked the protest to the dying of Keot in police custody and stated the celebration would strongly oppose each incidents.
Banerjee was accompanied by Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee and Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen, who additionally lashed out on the state administration following the protest.
Kalyan Banerjee alleged that Adhikari was “working the state by way of the police” and utilizing alleged mafia components for political functions. He additionally claimed that the state of affairs might have turned extra harmful had Banerjee’s safety personnel not intervened.
For the BJP, in the meantime, protests towards Banerjee and her relations present a possibility to painting the “former ruling institution as going through rising public anger after its defeat in meeting polls this yr after 15 years in energy.
For Banerjee, Sunday’s confrontation supplied the other political body: a possibility to accuse the brand new administration of failing to guard a former chief minister and of permitting political violence and lawlessness to take root.
The competing narratives — public anger versus political conspiracy — are prone to make the Halisahar confrontation one other flashpoint in Bengal’s more and more personalised political battle.
Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph On-line workers and has been revealed from a syndicated feed.
