Bengal minister says ‘EC must take responsibility’ as Mamata Banerjee injured in ‘attack’
Mamata Banerjee has sustained severe bone injuries in her left ankle and foot. Her right shoulder, forearm and neck were also injured, a senior doctor of the state-run SSKM hospital told PTI.
West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee trained guns at the Election Commission of India (ECI) following an ‘attack’ on chief minister Mamata Banerjee in which she suffered injuries in her leg on Wednesday evening. Banerjee claimed that she was deliberately pushed by some people in Nandigram in East Midnapore hours after she filed her nomination from the assembly constituency on Wednesday.
“Cowards have been trying to stop Mamata Banerjee but no one has been able to. Firstly state ADG Law and Order was removed then DG and now with this... I'm surprised to see how EC, who made all changes, is silent. They must take responsibility,” Chatterjee, who also holds the state’s parliamentary affairs portfolio, told news agency ANI.
The state minister’s remarks came hours after Banerjee claimed that she was pushed by four to five people while she was going to sit in her SUV, following which she also complained of chest pain. She alleged that there were no local police at the spot. Banerjee, who was unable to walk properly after the incident, was shifted by her security guards from the front seat to the back seat where she could rest her leg.
The chief minister is currently admitted at the SSKM hospital in Kolkata where the doctor, cited by news agency PTI, said Banerjee has sustained severe bone injuries in her left ankle and foot. Her right shoulder, forearm and neck were also injured, the senior doctor of the state-run SSKM hospital told PTI. "We will keep her under observation for the next 48 hours. There will be more tests needed to be done, and after evaluating her condition we will decide on our next course of treatment," a doctor, part of the team treating Banerjee, was quoted as saying.
The chief minister’s colleague and secretary general of West Bengal Trinamool Congress, Chatterjee told ANI that TMC leaders will visit the Election Commission office on Thursday regarding the incident. “We (TMC party leaders) have decided that tomorrow we will go to the Election Commission and keep this matter in front of the constitutional authority,” he said.
While the TMC minister has alleged inaction on EC’s part, the poll body has sought a report from the state police on the alleged attack, according to PTI.
After the incident last evening, several TMC leaders alleged that the chief minister was being attacked by goons as many people, in an apparent reference to the opposition in the state, don't want her to campaign for the elections.
“They want her to be removed from their path. That is why she has been attacked by goons. People will give a befitting reply," state minister and senior TMC leader Subrata Mukherjee was quoted by PTI.
Meanwhile, the BJP termed it an accident and demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as they alleged Banerjee was trying to turn it into "pre-planned conspiracy," according to PTI.
"It can happen that she met with an accident but to claim that she was deliberately pushed is not acceptable. She has a lot of security personnel guarding her round the clock," BJP's national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya was quoted as saying.