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Mithun Chakraborty abandoned TMC, sided with BJP to bail out son: Mamata Banerjee
Mamata Banerjee accuses Mithun Chakraborty of betrayal for joining BJP, calling him a traitor who bowed down to save his son. Chakraborty denies, saying Banerjee is rattled by BJP's growing support.
Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday attacked actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty for abandoning the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and siding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2021 assembly polls.
“I had made Mithun Chakraborty the Rajya Sabha MP of TMC. But I never knew he was another big traitor of Bengal. He went to RSS and bowed down just to save his son,” Banerjee said.
The TMC supremo was addressing an election rally at Islampur in North Dinjapur district. Raiganj Lok Sabha constituency in the district goes into poll in the second phase on April 26.
“If you remember his son was booked. Police had gone to the wedding to investigate. He got scared and went straight to the RSS office in Mumbai and said that he was a BJP sevak. Those who can fight, I consider only them as humans,” she added.
The scheduled wedding of Chakraborty’s son had to be called off on July 8, 2018 after Mumbai police arrived at the wedding venue to investigate a rape case against the groom. He got married on July 10 after getting bail.
Chakraborty strongly responded to Banerjee’s comments.
“I am Gaddar (traitor). I am Sardar (chief). I am everything. She has lost her mind seeing the crowd swell at the BJP rally,” Chakraborty told reporters in Darjeeling where he was campaigning for the BJP.
In 2014, the TMC sent Chakraborty to the Rajya Sabha but the Saradha scam apparently tarnished his image as he was the brand ambassador of the group that ran a ponzi scam in Bengal. Many other TMC leaders were associated with the group.
During the investigation into the scam, Chakraborty was interrogated and returned ₹1.19 crore to the Enforcement Directorate after tax deduction from ₹2 crore that he had got from the group for being their brand ambassador. This happened in 2015. In 2016, Chakraborty resigned from the Rajya Sabha citing health reasons.
In 2021 RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat met the actor at his Mumbai residence triggering speculation of the actor’s return to politics.
Chakraborty ended speculation on March 7, 2021 when he joined the BJP at a rally in Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground ahead of the West Bengal assembly election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the rally.
