Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Sunday that no Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members were involved in the protests surrounding former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bijpur of North 24 Parganas district.
The three-time Chief Minister fell victim to spontaneous public outrage on Sunday afternoon after she went to Bijpur to meet the family of a Trinamool Congress worker who allegedly died in police custody.
Speaking on the incident, the Chief Minister also offered a piece of advice to the former Chief Minister.
“Mamata Banerjee should wear a headset when stepping out in public. That way, she wouldn’t have to hear chants of “thief”,” Chief Minister Adhikari said.
Police had arrested Birju Keot — the husband of Jenny Sharma Keot, a Trinamool Councillor who had resigned from the Kanchrapara Municipality in North 24 Parganas — over various allegations, including extortion. He died mysteriously in the jail on Saturday.
The deceased Trinamool Congress worker’s family alleged that Birju was beaten to death.
On Sunday afternoon, former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accompanied by two party MPs, went to visit Birju’s family but faced protests on the way.
It is alleged that shoes and mud were hurled at the former Chief Minister’s vehicle.
Mamata Banerjee claimed that “BJP-backed miscreants” were responsible for the act.
Bricks and stones were also thrown at her car.
Mamata Banerjee claimed that had the windows been open, she could have suffered a head injury or even lost her life.
On Sunday evening, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari visited Panihati, also in North 24 Parganas district, to attend a memorial meeting marking the second anniversary of the death of the doctor, who was raped and murdered in the RG Kar incident.
Speaking about the protests against Mamata Banerjee and her allegations, the Chief Minister remarked that the incident was the result of public outrage.
“She (Mamata Banerjee) has ‘Z-plus’ category security. We (BJP government) haven’t withdrawn it. A senior officer from the Directorate of Security is present here,” he said.
Chief Minister Adhikari added, “I asked if any communication had been made; they said no contact was established. From the footage I saw on TV, the police, led by senior officers, provided her (Mamata Banerjee) with security support.”
Refuting Mamata’s allegations, Suvendu Adhikari said, “I did not see any familiar faces of BJP (in the protest). I did not even see the BJP flag. The family members are saying, ‘We did not call her (Mamata Banerjee) to join the protest’. But she (Mamata Banerjee) is trying to force her way in and saying, he (Birju) was killed in the jail and the BJP killed him. On the other hand, the deceased’s family is saying that they trust the state administration. They want the mystery to be revealed. Whether he (Birju) was beaten to death or not and whether he died due to illness or not, they want to find out. They want justice.”
The Chief Minister said, “They (Trinamool Congress) have stolen so much, that they have to hear the slogans of ‘thief’. When you get on a helicopter, they put them in your ears… (headsets or noise-cancelling earphones) Put them on as there is such a huge public outcry!”
(IANS)
