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Scuffle breaks out at Kolkata airport ahead of Abhishek Banerjee's arrival, supporter blames 'BJP person'
A supporter of Abhishek Banerjee said a “BJP person" arrived at the airport, followed by some boys with eggs in their hands.
A scuffle broke out at the Kolkata airport on Friday night, ahead of Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee's arrival from Delhi. The altercation was caught on camera, with several people seen shouting at each other.
Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of the ex-Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, was scheduled to land at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, returning from Delhi. TMC and BJP supporters gathered at the arrival gate. TMC supporters alleged that BJP supporters came with eggs to hurl at Banerjee. A scuffle broke out between the two groups.
TMC also alleged that a BJP worker came with arms to murder the Lok Sabha MP from Diamond Harbour.
A supporter of Abhishek Banerjee said a “BJP person" arrived at the airport, followed by some boys with eggs in their hands. “We requested them not to initiate this culture, they said we taught them this... They started misbehaving with our people... We requested the CRPF to remove them... They took out their arms at the airport, how can they bring arms in the presence of the airport authority?," an Abhishek Banerjee supporter was quoted as saying by ANI.
The viral clip also showed a man trying to hit another with a helmet, as people around tried to stop him. Union Minister and BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar was also present at the airport and appealed people to “maintain peace and have faith in the law”.
Abhishek Banerjee was in Delhi earlier today to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to argue against 20 TMC MPs announcing a merger with the NCPI in Tripura.
He is back in Kolkata now and was seen entering his residence alongside TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee.
Abhishek Banerjee's petition to the Lok Sabha speaker
Earlier in the day, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, along with some party MPs, met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to express reservations with the merger announced by 20 rebel MPs.After the meeting, Banerjee spoke at length, explaining why he considers the merger “invalid”. A recurring mention in his argument was the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.
“The 10th Schedule is against them, against these people who claim to have formed a separate group,” Banerjee told reporters as he held up a copy of the 20 different disqualification petitions he submitted before the Lok Sabha Speaker.
Banerjee countered the rebel MPs' claims on two grounds as he cited the 10th schedule:
“One should be disqualified from Lok Sabha once they decide to join another party.”
“Merger only valid if two-thirds of the entire party merges into another, and not just members of the legislative party.”
Earlier this week, the 20 rebel lawmakers from TMC told the Lok Sabha Speaker that they had merged with a little-known Tripura-based party, the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). It was after this move that Banerjee sought time with the Lok Sabha Speaker to present his side of the matter.
