NDA slams Mamata over viral ‘slapping’ video; TMC says gesture ‘affectionate’

NEW DELHI/KOLKATA, July 9: A political row erupted after a video showing former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee allegedly slapping a worker during a Trinamool Congress protest march in Kolkata went viral, with the BJP-led NDA accusing her of encouraging violence and the Trinamool Congress defending the gesture as an “affectionate” act towards party workers, whom it described as “like her own children”.
The incident happened during the party’s protest march in Kolkata against the alleged rape and murder of a minor in Baruipur. The march began from the Ballygunge outpost towards Hazra Crossing in south Kolkata on Wednesday following the order of the Calcutta High Court.
Speaking to IANS, BJP MP Dinesh Sharma said: “Now Mamata Banerjee wants violence, whereas the BJP and the government want to ensure that no violence is encouraged. Obviously, whoever indulges in violence will be punished. Therefore, the Trinamool Congress should also refrain from making any provocative statements.”
He appealed to all political parties to maintain the “dignity of democracy”.
Adding to the criticism, JD-U national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan said: “Mamata Banerjee is still not ready to change. People who treat political parties as their personal property are ultimately rejected by the public. If Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress leadership do not refrain from such actions even now, the party will face even greater difficulties in the future.”
West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh said: “Mamata Banerjee’s party never had a structure… It was just a crowd, a group of some anti-social people… When it was time to control the situation, she didn’t do it. Now, she is slapping the few people who are still there.”
Meanwhile, BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi condemned the alleged attacks on TMC leaders in West Bengal.
“Disappointment (among leaders) is usual after poll defeat, but such spectacle is rarely seen. They (Trinamool leaders) claim that they were attacked with eggs or slapped…they need to do self-introspection about the reasons due to which they (Mamata Banerjee and her loyalists) are being left by the party,” he told IANS.
JD-U chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar asserted that while disagreements are a part of politics, nuisance cannot be tolerated.
However, he also said: “When Mamata Banerjee was the Chief Minister, she took retaliatory action; it is natural that every action will have a reaction.”
Responding to the criticism, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy defended Mamata Banerjee, saying: “It is being claimed that Mamata Banerjee slapped someone, but even if she did, it was done affectionately.”
“They (Trinamool Congress workers) are all like her own children. She can do that. The media’s job is to portray us negatively. We have already said what we wanted to,” he added.
Meanwhile, adding to the Trinamool Congress allegations that its workers were assaulted during the protest, Saugata Roy blamed the BJP, calling it the latter’s “culture”.
“I have no expectations from it (BJP). All the goons and hooligans have come together. Trinamool Congress despite being the Opposition, is not allowed to hold a rally. Despite that, we took out our procession,” he said.
Roy also claimed: “Forty-one of our (Trinamool Congress) workers were injured and are being treated at PG Hospital and SSKM Hospital. People can see the condition of the Opposition under the BJP government.”
The responses came after the TMC alleged that its workers were assaulted during the protest. (IANS)