A complaint has been filed against TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee at the Siliguri Cyber Cell police station, alleging that statements he made during the West Bengal assembly poll campaign were intimidating, provocative, and capable of creating political tension.
Complaint Lodged Against Abhishek Banerjee
A complaint has been has lodged against TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee seeking an inquiry into certain public statements made during election campaigning in the run-up to the West Bengal assembly polls and their circulation through social media platforms The complaint was filed at the Siliguri Cyber Cell police station by Sanjay Kumar Singhal, who described the post by the Diamond Harbour MP as "capable of political tension."
"The statements, as publicly reported and available through video recordings, appear to have warnings and remarks referring to consequences after the conclusion of polling and election results. In my understanding, certain portions of these speeches may be perceived by members of the public as intimidating. provocative, or capable of creating apprehension and political tension," the complaint stated.
Complainant Details 'Intimidating' Remarks
Later speaking to ANI, Singal said that he had lodged a complaint against Abhishek Banerjee at the Siliguri Cyber Cell police station on Friday. It has been registered under case number 175/12/06/2026, he added.
According to Singhal, Abhishek made several statements during the election campaign that were "not in accordance with the law".
"How can a Member of Parliament break the law? In the remarks he made on May 4th, he invoked the name of the Union Home Minister... An individual considers himself so powerful that he openly challenges the country's Home Minister," he asked.
He noted that the job of the Election Commission is to hold free and fair elections. "Can such an election truly be fear-free? If someone is challenging the Home Minister, the local public must be trembling with fear... He made remarks like, 'I will play the DJ so loudly that eardrums will burst,' and 'Last time we were lenient, but this time we won't be.' If you aren't lenient, does that mean you'll shoot the public?..."
He further underlined that he filed the complaint to establish that the rule of law is the supreme authority. "My objective in filing this complaint is not to harass anyone or level accusations against anyone. My aim is to demonstrate that the law is supreme. It is often said that the law is equal for everyone; I want to see if that is truly the case. If, following this complaint, the court or the administration fails to take action against him, it will prove that the notion of equality before the law is merely an illusion... He was making highly provocative statements. It makes me shudder to think back to the violence of 2021. Had they won, given the rhetoric they were using, I might not have been in a position to file a complaint by 2026. That trust has now been established," he said.
He also said that Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's government has taken steps to contain the post-poll violence. "Although Suvendu's government has largely managed to control post-poll violence, you would have to admit that containing public outrage is beyond anyone's control. This public anger strikes a blow at the arrogance that was on display before the elections. Throwing an egg doesn't kill anyone. Rather, it shatters their arrogance... It is not the Trinamool party that is disintegrating. It is Trinamool's arrogance that is crumbling."
CID Searches Residence; TMC Cries 'Political Vendetta'
On Saturday morning, a team of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials, on Saturday, searched the Kalighat residence of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said that the police arrived at Banerjee's residence at 3 am on Saturday. "3 AM Saturday June 13. Police arrive at Abhishek Banerjee's @abhishekaitc's Kalighat residence in Kolkata. 5 AM: Disaster Management team called in to break open locks. 6:30 AM: Search begins, from second floor to terrace, lasting 90 minutes. Outcome? Seizure report says : NIL. No evidence. No wrongdoing. NOTHING. Just political vendetta, intimidation and mental torture. Operation Lotus is targeting every leader who refuses to surrender to the BJP's diktat. Disgraceful attack on an opposition leader. VINDICTIVE, CONNIVING, scumbag LOW LIFE tactics. SHAME," she posted on X.
Further, All India Trinamool Congress slammed the development and said, "Political vendetta gets from bad to worse."
As per TMC official sources, " There are some source-based leaks by Police officials regarding some transactions. There are absolutely no such transactions or financial activity or anything to do with his PA. This is a clear case of political vendetta by the BJP-led administration, and misinformation is being leaked to the media.
"We are legally taking up the matter of such misinformation being circulated and also being shown," sources added.
FIR Against Mamata Banerjee
Moreover, the Kolkata Police has registered an FIR against Mamata Banerjee. The FIR was registered at Hare Street, Kolkata Central Division, on June 7 under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 196(1), Section 351(2) and Section 352. In his complaint, Tushar Kanti Das, alleged that on March 9 this year, Mamata Banerjee delivered "a misleading speech intended to provoke a breach of peace, affect public tranquillity, maintain communal harmony, and threaten the democratic structure of the state". (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)