E-Paper
Purported remarks of BJP nominee, ex-Calcutta HC judge, against Mamata Banerjee spark row
The BJP reacted to the TMC's claims and said that it was a "fake video".
Former Calcutta high court judge and BJP's Lok Sabha candidate Abhijit Gangopadhyay has courted controversy with purported remarks against West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. In a purported video, Gangopadhyay was heard wondering about "the amount at which chief minister Mamata Banerjee is getting sold."
HT couldn't verify the authenticity of the video.
The TMC labelled Gangopadhyay's statements as BJP's guarantee of disrespecting women, while the saffron party raised doubts about the clip's authenticity.
"It is shameful that a former judge who is now a BJP candidate uses such words to malign a woman chief minister. This is the guarantee of the BJP that women under BJP rule will be insulted in this way," TMC leader Santanu Sen said.
TMC candidate Kirti Azaad also condemned the statements.
“Our MP Candidate Shri @KirtiAzaad vehemently condemned the misogynistic words uttered by Abhijit Gangopadhyay to refer to our CM Smt. @MamataOfficial, which not only demeaned her but all the women of Bengal,” TMC wrote on social media platform X.
“The Nari-Birodhi forces of @BJP4India shall be taught the right lesson by the people of Bengal!” it added.
The BJP, however, claimed the video was “fake.”
"We don't agree with the existence of any such videos. This is a ploy by the TMC to release fake videos and malign the BJP. But that won't make any difference in the elections," BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.
Gangopadhyay had earlier courted controversy by purportedly saying that the “death knell of Mamata Banerjee” had started ringing.
“Abhijit Gangopadhyay now wishes the death of Mamata Banerjee. Do we ever wish death even for our foes? The fear of losing has crept into the BJP....You should be apologetic about such distasteful remarks. And this person was a high court judge till he other day,” TMC leader Sashi Panja said reacting to the BJP leader's statements.
Gangopadhyay resigned as a judge of the Calcutta High Court on March 5 and joined the BJP two days later. The party later nominated him to contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Tamluk seat.
(With PTI inputs)
