NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was beaten and pelted with stones during a visit to West Bengal’s Sonarpur South on Saturday, where he was meeting families affected by post-poll violence.According to police, stones and eggs were thrown at Banerjee’s convoy as he travelled through South 24 Parganas. The TMC leader had gone to meet the family of slain party worker Sanju Karmakar and other families who, according to the party, were targeted after the assembly election results.
‘They wanted to kill me’
Reacting to the incident, Banerjee, whose shirt appeared torn and who looked visibly shaken after the attack, accused the BJP of being behind it.“It’s all BJP-sponsored. Look what they have done. This is their example of democracy. It hasn’t even been a month, and the police are nowhere to be seen,” he told reporters.“…They wanted to kill me… The whole incident has been captured on camera. We will definitely let the high court know about this. We will also let the governor know about this… I will definitely move to court…” he added.The visit marked Banerjee’s first major public appearance since the TMC’s defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections 26 days ago. He was also scheduled to visit families of other party workers allegedly affected by post-poll violence in Sonarpur South and Beleghata.The outreach came amid mounting political tensions, a day after the West Bengal CID served Banerjee a notice directing him to appear before investigators at Bhabani Bhawan, the agency’s headquarters in Kolkata, at noon on June 1. Banerjee has accused multiple agencies of being used to target him and has maintained that he will cooperate with the investigation while continuing his political activities.The summons relates to a CID probe into the alleged use of forged signatures of Trinamool Congress legislators in a communication submitted to the West Bengal Assembly Secretariat supporting senior TMC leader Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay for the post of Leader of the Opposition.Speaking after receiving the notice, Banerjee said he would consult his legal team before responding. “I am yet to see the content of the notice. I will consult with my lawyers and make an appropriate response. I will surely cooperate with the probe in whatever manner possible,” he said.“Let them do whatever they want. They can do whatever they want. Understand it this way, earlier it was just ED, CBI and now it is Bengal Police and Kolkata Police too, along with KMC (Kolkata Municipal Corporation),” Banerjee said.“There were 2-3 investigation agencies earlier and now it is 5. They think they will send 5-6 agencies after me and blackmail me into cowering down. I am not a person like that,” he added.
