Kolkata | TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee on Sunday alleged that he suffered head injuries after being mobbed by BJP supporters in front of a police station in West Bengal's Hooghly district.
The incident occurred when he visited the Chanditala police station to submit a memorandum protesting the arrest of TMC workers following the assembly elections. Party supremo Mamata Banerjee visited the Serampore MP's residence following the alleged incident, and accused the BJP of "murdering democracy".
While the TMC MP claimed that BJP supporters were responsible for the attack, the saffron party denied the allegation and said locals were expressing their anger against TMC leaders across the state.
The TMC MP, in a post on X, said, "Just 15 metres away from Chanditala Police Station, while I was on my way to submit a deputation, BJP-backed miscreants launched a violent attack on me. A hard object was hurled directly at my head, causing head injuries and chest pain. The nature of the assault clearly suggests an attempt to inflict serious harm, if not take my life."
"If an opposition Member of Parliament can be attacked in broad daylight, in full view of the police and so close to a police station, one must ask: where is the security for ordinary party workers and supporters?" he asked.
The incident came a day after TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was allegedly heckled by locals during his visit to Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas district to meet families affected by post-poll violence.
Tension prevailed outside the Chanditala police station as a group of people waved black flags at Kalyan Banerjee and shouted "thief" at him and other members of the TMC delegation.
Kalyan Banerjee alleged that he was struck on the head during the protest and sustained an injury. He was seen holding a cloth to the back of his head.
"All this happened in front of the police," he told reporters, blaming BJP supporters for the incident.
The Lok Sabha MP staged a brief dharna, alleging police inaction. He also asserted that the TMC would continue its protests against what he termed "BJP-sponsored attacks".
A large police contingent and central forces were deployed in the area to prevent any further escalation.
"Yesterday it was Abhishek Banerjee, today it is me. Such attacks will not intimidate us or force us into silence. Our struggle against the BJP government's culture of political intimidation, misuse of state machinery, and the steady erosion of democratic values will continue unabated.
"We have always stood with the people and fought for their interests. We were on the streets yesterday, we are on the streets today, and we will remain there tomorrow, continuing our fight for the rights and welfare of ordinary citizens," he wrote on social media.
Following the incident, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee visited Kalyan Banerjee's residence. The TMC posted on X a photograph showing the party chief beside the MP, who had a bandage on his forehead.
In the post, the party said, "Those who believe that violence and intimidation can silence us have learnt nothing from history. Every attack only strengthens our determination to fight for truth and justice. The truth cannot be suppressed. Justice cannot be denied. We will not back down."
In a separate post, Mamata Banerjee alleged that BJP supporters had attacked TMC leaders on two consecutive days.
"Yesterday, BJP supporters brutally attacked and lynched TMC Lok Sabha Floor Leader Abhishek Banerjee. The terrifying videos are in the public domain. Today, our chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Kalyan Banerjee, was also a victim of a planned BJP attack. BJP is murdering democracy," she said.
Kolkata | TMC MP Bapi Haldar's party office at Mathurapur in South 24 Parganas district was vandalised by local villagers on Sunday, alleging that flood relief materials were illegally stored there, police said.
A police officer said the situation was brought under control, and the assembled people were dispersed.
Window panes and signage at the office of Mathurapur TMC MP were broken as the mob alleged that flood relief materials were stored there and that the office was illegally built on a waterbody.
Haldar alleged that the vandalism was a result of the change of guard in the state and claimed that nothing was illegally stored in the party office.
"The relief materials were bought by us for distribution among the locals to mitigate people's hardship in case of floods," he said.
Local TMC leaders accused the BJP of vandalising the party office, but the saffron party denied the charge, maintaining that its workers were not involved in any such incident.
Kolkata | A scheduled meeting of newly-elected Trinamool Congress legislators, which was supposed to be chaired by party supremo Mamata Banerjee, was called off on Sunday after nearly three-fourths of the 80 MLAs failed to turn up, party sources said.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh attributed the absence of MLAs to the "sudden and emergent ground situation" in the wake of Saturday's attack on TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and the subsequent alleged assault on party MP Kalyan Banerjee on Sunday.
"The meeting was pre-scheduled. However, in the aftermath of the attacks on our leaders, our MLAs are organising protest programmes at the ground level, following which severe police action has been unleashed on our workers.
"The absentee MLAs, who are stuck with managing the ground situation, assisting our workers who have been arrested, had informed the legislative party of the developments and requested if the meeting could be temporarily postponed," Ghosh told reporters outside former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat residence, where the meeting was scheduled to take place.
Ghosh said that in the wake of that "legitimate request" from legislators, the Trinamool legislative party decided to call off the meeting "for the time being", despite some 20 MLAs having arrived at the venue of the meeting, which was scheduled to start at 3 pm.
"We will hold this meeting at a later date, the details of which will be duly communicated to our MLAs. All our legislators have communicated that they are firmly standing with the party during these difficult times," Ghosh said.
Party sources said that despite the scant presence of leaders, Banerjee held informal talks with those present at the meeting.
Ghosh, however, communicated twin decisions taken by the party to heighten protests against the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government over the next 48 hours.
"We have asked our leaders to organise protest rallies at block levels in rural areas and at the municipal wards in the state's urban pockets on Monday, June 1. The rallies will decry the attacks on our leaders Abhishek Banerjee, Kalyan Banerjee and all our workers who are victims of BJP's post-poll terror," Ghosh said.
The TMC's Beleghata MLA also announced the party's day-long sit-in in central Kolkata, which will be led by Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday.
"The one-day symbolic sit-in protest will be held at the Rani Rashmoni Road protest site in Esplanade against the ongoing post-poll violence and the inhumane hawker eviction that are being carried out by means of bulldozers across the state," he said.
The subsequent political programmes of our party will be announced from the dharna platform on June 2, he added.
