The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said it demolished a makeshift shade in front of Mamata All India Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee’s residence on Kalighat Road in south Kolkata on Thursday morning, while the party claimed that its workers had started dismantling it the previous night.
Police said that cops, central forces and a bulldozer reached the spot early in the morning. The shade, which was set up in front of Banerjee’s residence at 121 Kalighat Road when the party was in power in the state, was demolished.
“The shade was blocking the footpath. Local residents and passersby were not able to use the footpath. A bulldozer was used to dismantle it. Cutters were used to remove an iron gate, which was restricting the movement of pedestrians.
Claims and counterclaims
The Mamata AITC, however, said party workers had begun dismantling the shade on Wednesday night.
“We are removing the structure on our own so that the Bharatiya Janata Party government can’t come up with a new narrative that they are demolishing structures to clear the footpath. This was being done so that the state government can think something beyond Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee and concentrate on development works,” Arka Nag, advocate of Abhishek Banerjee, told media persons on Wednesday evening.
A KMC official, however, said that the entire structure and the iron gate were not removed and hence a bulldozer and a cutter had to be used to remove the restrictions.
{{/usCountry}}A KMC official, however, said that the entire structure and the iron gate were not removed and hence a bulldozer and a cutter had to be used to remove the restrictions.
{{/usCountry}}State minister Dilip Ghosh said the drive has started from the top, as “leaders have shown the people how to encroach”
“Nobody has the authority to block footpaths and roads. In Kolkata, pedestrians have very little space to walk. That’s why footpaths need to be freed from any obstructions. This drive has started from the top as leaders have shown the people how to encroach,” Ghosh told the media.
Abhishek Banerjee issued a statement through social media platform X.
"No number of bulldozers can silence my voice or break my resolve. I will continue my fight against the Bangla Birodhis. I will neither retreat nor budge an inch until my last breath," he wrote.
Earlier action on Abhishek Banerjee
Earlier in July, Banerjee’s office in his Lok Sabha constituency, Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district, was demolished by the zilla parishad authorities after being tagged as an illegal construction.
In August, police arrested 13 people on charges of attacking police and KMC officials when they went to Banerjee's office on Camac Street to remove a billboard allegedly installed without permission. Banerjee and some party leaders, including Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien and former IPS officer Humayun Kabir, blocked the path of the police and KMC officials when they tried to move through the human barricade.
The TMC had streamed the jostling live on Facebook as it continued for about an hour. An FIR was registered against Banerjee, and he was questioned by the Kolkata Police.
In September, masked men allegedly ransacked and looted Banerjee’s Camac Street office, the leader had alleged.