Heated altercation between Bengal minister, BJP MP over ‘rash driving’
The incident happened on the busy Vidyasagar Bridge, popularly called the Second Hooghly Bridge, connecting Kolkata and Howrah late on Friday night and a video of the incident surfaced online
A heated altercation broke out between West Bengal minister Babul Supriyo and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay on the busy Vidyasagar Bridge, popularly called the Second Hooghly Bridge, connecting Kolkata and Howrah late on Friday night.
A video of the incident surfaced online.
Supriyo, the state IT minister, alleged that the driver of Gangopadhyay’s car was driving in a rash manner. He also accused the BJP MP of abusing him when he stopped the car. On the other hand, Gangopadhyay, a former Calcutta high court judge and member of Parliament from Tamluk in East Midnapore, alleged that Supriyo was driving in an inebriate state. He also accused the minister of abusing him and trying to him.
“I was driving myself when I saw the other car driving in a very rash manner. There could have been an accident. I went near the car and asked the driver why he was driving in such a reckless manner. When I stopped the other car, I saw the nameplate of the BJP MP on the windscreen. The car also had a beacon and a hooter. Gangopadhyay was sitting inside,” Supriyo told media persons.
In the video clip that surfaced on social media, Supriyo could be seen demanding an apology from Gangopadhyay. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
“He abused me when I requested him to ask his driver not to drive in a reckless manner. I was very shocked,” Supriyo told the media.
Gangopadhyay, however, told the media that Supriyo was driving in an inebriate state and abused him.
“Supriyo’s singing career has ended and he has started a new carrier as a goon. He was driven out of the BJP and somehow managed to join the TMC. He was shouting at the top of his voice asking my driver not to honk. Later he came out of the car with three to four of his men. He was totally drunk. He started abusing me. He tried to hit me, and my phone fell down,” Gangopadhyay told the media.
Pratap Basu, a social activist from Howrah, sent an email to the police in Howrah and Kolkata on Saturday requesting the cops to take action against the two.
“While one has been accused of rash driving another is accused of driving in an inebriate state. I have asked the police as to what action has been taken against them. As the two engaged in an altercation on the busy bridge there was a traffic snarl. Had it been any common man he would have been arrested by now,” Basu said.
