StatesWest Bengal
Mamata demands Kolkata Police chief Ajay Nanda resign after fresh tension outside Abhishek's home
Standing on a chair with a microphone in Kalighat, the Trinamool chairperson accused the police of siding with the BJP and threatened court action, hours after overnight clashes outside her nephew's residence.
Key points
- Mamata Banerjee on Saturday demanded the resignation of Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nanda outside Abhishek Banerjee's home in Kalighat.
- Clashes between Trinamool and BJP supporters began around 2 am, and police later barred gatherings under Section 163 of the BNSS around the house.
- Mamata threatened to move the Supreme Court, while the BJP blamed Abhishek and the Trinamool for the trouble.
Mamata Banerjee demanded the resignation of Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nanda on Saturday, after fresh tension outside her nephew Abhishek Banerjee’s residence at Patuapara in Kalighat, south Kolkata. The Trinamool Congress chairperson said the police had sided with the BJP and warned that her party would go to court.
Mamata came out of her own house nearby, stood on a chair with a microphone and addressed workers and residents. She said Nanda should step down and cited the example of Vineet Goyal, a former Kolkata Police chief who resigned. She also named the officer-in-charge of Kalighat police station, Bolai Bag, and said his actions could provoke public anger. She said she would complain about the station and ask for a case against the police.
How the day unfolded
The trouble began in the early hours. Trinamool supporters had gathered outside Abhishek’s house for his 39th birthday, and between about 2 am and 3:30 am an argument turned into scuffles and stone-pelting with BJP supporters. At least eight people were hurt, three of them seriously. Police sealed the area, and several people were detained.
Abhishek, the party’s general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP, said his residence had been targeted by “BJP goons”. He wrote: “This is the seventh attempt on my life in the last six months.”
On Saturday afternoon police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS around the house and put up barricades. Trinamool workers said they were being stopped even from offering birthday greetings, and tempers rose again. Allegations that women workers were manhandled and their shell bangles broken were made by the party. They are unverified.
What Mamata said
“A group of lumpen elements backed by the BJP orchestrated the attack,” Mamata said. She added: “An atmosphere of unrest has been deliberately created in this area before the Kali Puja.” Without naming Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, she said that the one leading the administration was behind it, while adding that she was not blaming everyone in the BJP.
She told the police: “do not cross your limits. If you cross the limits, I will fight you.” She said she might move the Supreme Court, and that if she was stopped she would hold the Kali Puja in front of the Kalighat temple.
The BJP’s reply
The BJP rejected the charge. Its chief state spokesperson, Debjit Sarkar, said the clash began over a dispute between Trinamool factions about who would cut the cake, and blamed Abhishek. He accused Mamata of creating anarchy. Baranagar MLA Sajal Ghosh blamed both Mamata and Abhishek and asked why a birthday was celebrated on a road at night.
There was no statement from Nanda or Kolkata Police on the resignation demand at the time of writing.