Amid row over remarks by West Bengal minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader - Akhil Giri - against President Droupadi Murmu, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Locket Chatterjee on Sunday was reported to have filed a complaint against him. Chatterjee, who represents West Bengal's Hooghly constituency in Parliament, filed a complaint in Delhi's North Avenue Police Station, news agency ANI reported, urging the authorities to intervene and take immediate action by filing a first information report (FIR) under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) (SC/ST) Act.
“ Mamata Banerjee should give a statement. Akhil Giri is a minister in her government. She should sack him immediately. She should come to Delhi and apologise," she was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. “They may say a lot about the SC-ST community in public but this is the actual sentiment of their ministers,” she further said.
In a video clip, Akhil Giri - while attacking the state’s opposition leader Suvendu Andhakari - is heard saying, “He ( Suvendu Adhikari) says I am not good-looking. How beautiful you are! We don't judge anyone by their appearance, we respect the office of the President (of India). But how does our President look?" HT, however, can't verify the authenticity of the clip
Even as he apologised for his comments, the leaders of the BJP have been keeping up the attack and demanding his removal from the council of ministers. “Just like I have respect for the country’s constitution, I also respect the President of India, who is the Head of the State. I also work as per the constitution of the country. But for the last few days, the kind of remarks made by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari against me and my looks has left me humiliated and fuming. I am an old man, and by mistake, I have made a remark out of emotional outbursts of my anger. I regret making such a remark,” Giri was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
{{/usCountry}}Even as he apologised for his comments, the leaders of the BJP have been keeping up the attack and demanding his removal from the council of ministers. “Just like I have respect for the country’s constitution, I also respect the President of India, who is the Head of the State. I also work as per the constitution of the country. But for the last few days, the kind of remarks made by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari against me and my looks has left me humiliated and fuming. I am an old man, and by mistake, I have made a remark out of emotional outbursts of my anger. I regret making such a remark,” Giri was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
{{/usCountry}}Saumitra Khan, BJP MP also wrote to National Commission for Women (NCW) requesting them for an ‘immediate arrest’ of Akhil Giri. Khan also wrote that he should be dismissed from the MLA post.
In response to the remarks, Trinamool's national spokesperson Saket Gokhale said in a tweet that the minister's remarks are "unacceptable" as he reaffirmed his party's utmost respect for President Murmu.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)