A political event in Sonarpur,South 24 Parganas district turned ugly after TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee faced heckling and physical aggression.
What makes this more serious is that leaders across parties did condemn assault,but at same time BJP and CPI-M also brought up Banerjee's earlier speeches . They called those speeches arrogant and provocative,and linked that past rhetoric with violence he faced .
Samik Bhattacharya,state president of BJP,asked people to show restraint and not take law into their own hands . Fair point,because once political anger becomes street action,things can go out of control very fast.
But he also questioned absence of police during incident,and said state government must answer for this security lapse . He even recalled previous assassination attempt on Suvendu Adhikari,the current Chief Minister,while talking about tense political climate in West Bengal.
Few things standing out clearly in this case:
- Political leaders across West Bengal denounced assault on Abhishek Banerjee.
- BJP and CPI-M condemned attack,but also blamed his earlier arrogant and provocative speeches.
- Questions are now being raised about lack of police presence and security protection .
Bhattacharya also said BJP has suffered violence earlier at hands of TMC supporters,but still showed restraint post-elections . And tbh,this kind of statement shows how every party is condemning violence,but also using same moment to remind people of old political wounds .
Md. Salim,Secretary of CPI-M,also called attack on Banerjee unacceptable . But he too criticized Banerjee's prior threats and provocative statements during election campaign,and even suggested BJP may be trying to keep TMC relevant in West Bengal. That is not small allegation ah.
Then Kunal Ghosh from TMC attacked West Bengal government's decision to withdraw Banerjee's security protection . He compared situation with historical context around assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi,and questioned what police were doing during attack .
As Banerjee left scene,he expressed anger and said he narrowly escaped serious injury . He also indicated he may pursue legal action if needed . And now bigger question is not just who attacked him,but why security gap happened in first place…
