Cops quiz Mithun Chakrabory over poll speeches

Kolkata: Actor Mithun Chakraborty, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on March 7 , was questioned by the Kolkata police on Wednesday morning in connection with a case in which he has been accused of advocating violence through his campaign speeches during the recent West Bengal assembly election

Kolkata: Actor Mithun Chakraborty, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on March 7 , was questioned by the Kolkata police on Wednesday morning in connection with a case in which he has been accused of advocating violence through his campaign speeches during the recent West Bengal assembly election.

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The complaint was lodged on May 6 by a Kolkata resident , Mrityunjay Pal, alleging that the 71-year-old national award-winning actor used a monologue from one of his popular Bengali movies in which his character described himself as a cobra whose one bite could kill anyone. The lines, “Ami joldhorao noi, bele borao noi... ami ekta cobra: ek chobolei chhobi (I am not a harmless snake, I am a pure cobra: one bite and you are dead),” came from the 2006 movie Abhimanyu.

In the same speech on March 7, Chakraborty mouthed another controversial dialogue from his 2006 superhit Bengali movie MLA Fatakeshto: “Marbo ekhane…laash porbe shoshane (I will thrash you here and you will end up at a crematorium).” The FIR alleges that such speeches played a role in inciting post-poll violence in the state.

Officers from the Maniktala police station questioned Chakraborty for around 45 minutes. “It was done during a video conference,” said Mrinal Kanti Mukherjee, officer-in-charge of Maniktala police station. He refused to divulge details.

The allegation against the actor comes at a time when the BJP has alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) is sponsoring post-poll violence in the districts. Chakraborty, formerly a Rajya Sabha MP of TMC, joined the BJP at the party’s first rally at the historic Brigade Parade Grounds on March 7 where Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a mammoth crowd. He picked up the BJP flag from top leaders an hour before Modi arrived. Chakraborty used the controversial monologue in his speech on that day. It was heard again in the districts.

Chakraborty campaigned extensively, leading as many as three roadshows on some days. The BJP allotted a chopper for him. TMC won the election with 213 seats while the BJP , which was hoping to win over 200, did only 77.

Speculations over Chakraborty joining the BJP  started on February 16 when Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat had a 90-minute meeting with the actorin Mumbai. At that time, Chakraborty had told the media that the meeting had been due for around two years and had nothing to do with politics.