Attack on Abhishek Banerjee: Kharge slams BJP’s ‘politics of vendetta’

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday strongly condemned the attack on Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee, saying that “political differences can never justify violence.” Banerjee was attacked during his visit to Sonarpur to meet the post-poll violence victims’ families. Terming the alleged attack on Banerjee shocking, Kharge, in a post on X, said, “Strongly condemn the shocking attack on MP Shri Abhishek Banerjee in Sonarpur, as he went to meet the families affected by post-poll violence in the state. The deliberate lack of adequate police protection for a prominent Opposition leader speaks volumes about the BJP’s politics of vendetta and persecution The Government of West Bengal and the Union Government must ensure security for all Opposition leaders and take immediate steps to prevent such attacks.”

Akhilesh Yadav Alleges Conspiracy

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also condemned the incident and alleged a conspiracy behind the lack of police arrangements. “By orchestrating a murderous attack on Abhishek Banerjee, a key leader of the Trinamool Congress in Bengal, the anarchic BJP government in Bengal has proven that the BJP is capable of nothing but hate-filled, negative, violent politics. Even in such a sensitive environment, the absence of police arrangements points to a major conspiracy. Utterly condemnable!” Akhilesh Yadav said on X.

TMC Blames BJP Supporters

The Trinamool Congress alleged that party leader Abhishek Banerjee was “lynched and attacked by a few BJP supporters” while he had gone to meet the family of “a person murdered by BJP” with the TMC general secretary also alleging an attempt “to kill” him.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)