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BJP supporters celebrate with Modi cutout outside TMC chief's house, shout ‘Jai Shri Ram’, ‘chor Mamata’ slogans
A group of people on two-wheelers with BJP flags were seen shouting slogans outside her Kolkata residence hours after Suvendu Adhikari took oath as Bengal CM.
Supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were seen celebrating outside the residence of Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday hours after Suvendu Adhikari took oath as Bengal chief minister in a star-studded ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan. Track updates on Bengal govt oath ceremony
The BJP supporters were seen chanting slogans of ‘chor Mamata’ and ‘Jai Shri Ram’, with one of them carrying a lifesize cutout of PM Modi. News agency PTI shared a video that showed supporters on motorcycles and cars with BJP flags passing by Mamata's Kolkata residence while shouting the slogans.
‘Chor Mamata’ slogans shouted outside ex-CM's house
The man carrying a Modi cutout also stopped in front of the gate, brandishing the cutout while repeatedly shouting ‘chor Mamata’. In the four-minute-long video, the man is seen making multiple rounds of Mamata's residence as he keeps repeating the slogan. He then stops in front of the gate and walks to the gate, while pointing at Modi's cutout.
Two other men with them on another motorcycle are seen getting down from the vehicle and waving a huge BJP flag.
An man, apparently the gatekeeper, then intervenes and asks them to leave, while the group continues to chant slogans before getting back on their two-wheelers. “We have been giving ₹10 lakh,” one of the men is heard saying.
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A heated exchange of words follows as a few people ask them to leave. The group aggressively keeps chanting ‘chor Mamata’ and ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans as another group in an autorickshaw flanked by BJP flags arrives at the spot.
Notably, the security arrangements outside the residences of Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee were scaled down on Wednesday morning. Police later said that the security had not been withdrawn, but only extra deployment had been removed which was being used for law and order in the state.
TMC failed to win Bengal
The recent West Bengal assembly elections ended in a big upset for Mamata-led TMC as the party was ousted from power after 15 years. The BJP stormed to its historic win in the state with 207 of 294 seats, while the BJP was limited to mere 80. One of the biggest losses for the TMC was Mamata bastion Bhabanipur which she lost to BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, once her close aide, by over 15,000 votes. He also retained the Nandigram seat that he clinched from Mamata in 2021.
After the results were declared on May 4, Mamata refused to resign from her post as Bengal chief minister as she made claims of poll rigging. Her claim was backed by INDIA bloc leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav. However, governor RN Ravi dissolved the assembly on Thursday, paving way for the BJP to form government.
Post poll violence was also reported from Bengal as sporadic clashes were reported from several parts of the state. The TMC also alleged that the BJP workers demolished several meat shops in a Kolkata market using bulldozers. The situation worsened on Wednesday when Suvendu's close aide was Chandranath Rath was shot dead in Madhyamgram.
Suvendu finally took oath as Bengal chief minister on Saturday at Kolkata's Brigade Parade Ground. Five other BJP leaders took oath as Bengal ministers. These included Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu and Nisith Pramanik.
