Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials removed a bamboo structure outside TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee’s Kalighat residence. The civic action follows recent clashes between BJP and TMC workers and growing political tensions in West Bengal.
KMC Removes Structure Outside Abhishek Banerjee’s Residence
Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials on Thursday morning removed a makeshift structure outside Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee’s residence in the state capital. KMC officials arrived with a bulldozer at the TMC general secretary’s Kalighat house in the morning and removed a structure made of bamboo in front of the MP’s house. The structure was on the footpath and the civic officials said it caused inconvenience to locals using the footpath. A huge posse of central forces was deployed at Banerjee’s house before the bulldozer action.
The action came days after late-night clashes between BJP and TMC workers outside the MP’s house on the occasion of his 39th birthday. What started as an altercation finally turned into scuffles and stone-pelting. Abhishek Banerjee alleged that there was an attempt on his life and accused BJP supporters of ransacking a nearby TMC office.
Surveillance Allegations and Political Unrest
On Wednesday, Abhishek Banerjee alleged surveillance by Kolkata Police and demanded Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s intervention. In an X post, he wrote, “Once again, @KolkataPolice officials are using official police vehicles to conduct surveillance around my residence and snoop on me. They carried out a similar recce last week, following which hooligans attacked on November 7. Four days have passed, yet not a single perpetrator has been arrested. I have serious reasons to believe another attack is being planned.”
“Is the objective to intimidate and silence me while rapes and other crimes continue unabated across the state? Why is the BJP government so afraid of my voice? And why has the Hon’ble Lok Sabha Speaker @ombirlakota failed to intervene despite my repeated complaints? Is the police force being used to protect citizens or to intimidate those who dare to question the government?” the post read.
Earlier, on Friday, Abhishek Banerjee alleged that unidentified persons had been conducting reconnaissance of his office and residence for two days. “When confronted, they claimed to be police personnel,” he said on X, asking, “Why is the State Police allegedly spying on and snooping around the office and residence of an elected Member of Parliament? Who authorised this surveillance and for what purpose?”
Hours later, he claimed the threat had turned real. “After I released the recce video this morning, my house was attacked just now, at 2 AM by BJP goons, right under the watch of the Kolkata police,” he said in a post on X on Saturday. Turning his guns on the judiciary, he added, “Thank you, Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court of India, for remaining mute spectators while all this unfolds.”
“You can demolish my home. You can vandalise my office. You can frame me with false cases. You can do whatever you like… But the courage, human spirit, and conscience that I was born with—you can never take that away, nor will I ever be frightened by you,” he said.
Protests and Political Reactions
The incident prompted Mamata Banerjee to join Abhishek in a protest in Kalighat. She reached the Kalighat residence later in the morning and staged a protest with her nephew. West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh dismissed the claims as an attempt to “mislead people.”
“This is the first time we’ve seen a politician’s birthday being celebrated on the footpath. If someone creates a disturbance, there is bound to be a backlash. Besides, who has the time to kill Abhishek Banerjee? There is nothing left for them to say or do, so they are attempting to mislead people by bringing up this issue,” he said.
Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar also blamed the TMC’s decision to hold birthday celebrations on a public road, arguing that such gatherings could trigger confrontation.
Meanwhile, in July, an anti-encroachment drive was carried out amidst security arrangements at MP Abhishek Banerjee’s closed office in Amtala, South 24 Parganas. However, later, the Calcutta High Court directed that all demolition work at his office in Amtala be stopped until further orders.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)