Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 2 (ANI): Following Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee appearing before the police over the Camac Street incident, West Bengal Minister Indranil Khan said that the TMC leader should apologise to the people, accusing him of undermining the law and treating West Bengal as “their property”.
Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, Khan said, “These people treated West Bengal as their property and never respected the national law… Till date, they have not corrected their arrogance… They patronised and promoted post-poll violence and the way Abhishek Banerjee was giving out threats; he should apologise to the people.”
BJP leader Priyanka Tibrewal echoed the criticism, calling for stringent questioning of Banerjee.
“He should be questioned for 14 hours. People like him should be interrogated for 14 hours, not just 7. The police are adopting the right approach today–work should not be done under pressure, and if someone acts against the law, they must face the consequences,” she told ANI.
The West Bengal Police on August 28 registered an FIR against Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O’Brien and others over alleged obstruction and assault on police personnel during the removal of an allegedly unauthorised hoarding at 9, Camac Street, Kolkata.
Follwoing that, Abhishek Banerjee was questioned for several hours by the Shakespeare Sarani Police Station in connection with the Camac Street incident on Tuesday.
After the questioning, he alleged that the BJP government is selectively targeting the Trinamool Congress and its workers.
“On the 27th, all of you saw on the news how our workers and supporters were harassed after the chaos unfolded. If this BJP government had shown the same urgency even a month earlier, the incident at Forence Mansion on Mir Jafar Ali Street could have been prevented. Instead, selective action has become their only priority,” he said.
Banerjee alleged that the authorities’ focus is now on removing TMC signboards, freezing party accounts and targeting the party’s MLAs and MPs.
The TMC MP also alleged that several party workers had been arrested without prior notice and claimed that procedural errors had occurred during the arrests.
“If they think they can silence us through false cases and arrests, they are mistaken. We have videos showing what actually happened. Our workers did not attack the police. Instead, we have footage of our supporters being dragged down the stairs by police personnel. The truth exists on record, no matter how hard they try to change the narrative,” Banerjee said.
The controversy erupted after Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials, accompanied by Kolkata Police personnel, removed a signboard reading “All India Trinamool Congress” from the building that houses Banerjee’s office.
TMC alleged that police personnel used force against party workers during the operation. In a post on X, the party said, “What Kolkata Police did today will go down in history as the DARKEST DAY in Bengal,” alleging that staff, female workers and female security guards were assaulted.
Earlier, TMC MP Derek O’Brien claimed that more than 150 police personnel had “illegally trespassed” into the building following the removal of the signboard. He alleged that police personnel later pushed and shoved party workers on the staircase and claimed that 10 to 15 TMC workers were detained.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Police said that 12 people had been detained in connection with the Camac Street incident.
The TMC subsequently put up another banner on top of the building housing Banerjee’s office after the original party signboard was removed. (ANI)
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