Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Wednesday alleged that BJP workers threw eggs at her during a visit to her Krishnanagar constituency in West Bengal, invoking a recent Supreme Court observation that had questioned her fear of such protests. Moitra posted a video of the purported incident on social media and accused BJP workers of targeting her while she was visiting the constituency for a meeting. There was no immediate independent confirmation of her allegation identifying those involved as BJP workers.
Moitra targets BJP
The Krishnanagar MP claimed that the incident occurred despite the West Bengal Police having been informed about the possibility of trouble. Referring to Supreme Court Justice Dipankar Datta, Moitra said she had followed the advice given to her during an earlier hearing and faced the eggs in the manner freedom fighters had faced bullets. Her remarks referred to observations made by a Supreme Court bench last month while hearing her plea seeking permission to join a police interrogation through video conferencing.
Court remark recalled
A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu had questioned Moitra over her reluctance to appear physically before investigators because of concerns that eggs could be thrown at her. The matter concerned allegedly provocative Facebook posts and Moitra’s request to participate in the interrogation virtually. The bench declined to interfere with a Calcutta High Court order requiring her to appear before the investigating officer in person.
During the hearing, the court observed that as a Member of Parliament who had entered politics, Moitra should not be deterred by the possibility of eggs being hurled at her, while referring to the sacrifices made by freedom fighters. Moitra used those observations on Wednesday to take a swipe at the BJP following the alleged incident.
Second such allegation
This is not the first time this year that Moitra has accused BJP workers of throwing eggs during one of her political programmes. In July, she had made a similar allegation after eggs were reportedly hurled at a venue where she was meeting Trinamool Congress workers in West Bengal.
Moitra had blamed BJP workers for that incident as well and accused the police of failing to take adequate action despite her complaints. Wednesday’s incident adds another flashpoint to the continuing confrontation between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP in West Bengal, with Moitra using the episode to revive the Supreme Court’s earlier remarks and question the response of the authorities.