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'Laughable': Congress' Adhir Ranjan on claims that Mamata was alone at the time of Nandigram attack
Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress chief, sustained severe bone injuries after she, according to her claim, was allegedly "pushed" by some unknown persons at Nandigram in the East Midnapore district on Wednesday evening.
A day after an alleged attack on Mamata Banerjee, Congress' West Bengal unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury slammed the chief minister on Thursday. He also accused Banerjee of resorting to theatrics to gain "sympathy" ahead of the assembly elections, ANI reported. "If there is a conspiracy, call Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Crime Investigation Department (CID) or form a Special Investigation Team (SIT). Why don't you (Mamata Banerjee) do it?" Chowdhury was quoted as saying by ANI.
Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress chief, sustained severe bone injuries after she, according to her claim, was allegedly "pushed" by some unknown persons at Nandigram in the East Midnapore district on Wednesday evening. Calling the alleged attack as conspiracy, Banerjee said that it occurred in the absence of any police or security officials while she was interacting with the people in the area. It is to be noted that Banerjee is protected under the Z+ security cover.
The chief minister is currently undergoing treatment at SSKM hospital in Bhowanipore, Kolkata, where she will remain under close observation of doctors for 48 hours.
Further questioning Banerjee over the lack of visuals from the attack, Chowdury said, "Where were the police, CCTV? Take out CCTV footage and the truth will come out," according to ANI. Chowdhury further said that "it is laughable that she claims there was no police with her."
"She is trying to gain sympathy from people by making excuses of attack, conspiracy, attempt of murder etc," he also said. "It is an attempt to win the election with excuses," Chowdhury added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused TMC of politicising the issue. "I hope Election Commission will send enough central forces to West Bengal to control the political violence," news agency ANI quoted BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya as saying.
Condemning the accusation of opposition leaders, TMC spokesperson, Derek O'Brien said, "Those responsible for this heinous incident need to be brought to book," ANI reported. "It was in such poor taste that within 30 minutes, there were other kinds of statements. We condemn those statements. Talk to doctors and see what happened," he added.
Meanwhile, police have registered a case following the complaint lodged by TMC leader Shiekh Sufian. Election Commission has also sought a report from West Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay.
