TMC MP defends Mamata Banerjee after viral slap video
NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saugata Roy on Thursday defended party chief and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee after a viral video showed her slapping a party worker during a protest march in Kolkata, saying she shares a close bond with party workers and ‘can do whatever she wishes’ with them.His remarks came a day after a video circulating on social media showed Mamata Banerjee losing her cool and slapping a TMC worker who was trying to clear a path for her through a crowd during a protest march over the alleged rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl in Baruipur.Speaking to reporters, Roy dismissed the controversy surrounding the incident.”So? Mamata Banerjee is very close to her party workers. She shows them affection, and this as well… Mamata Banerjee can do whatever she wishes with her workers,” he said. The video, shared widely on social media, shows Mamata walking through a large crowd before briefly striking a party worker standing close to her as supporters attempted to manage the gathering around her.The clip drew sharp reactions from the BJP. BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari shared the video on X and alleged that Banerjee had hit multiple members of her own party. “Mamata Banerjee has completely lost her mental balance after losing elections! Mamata Banerjee hits multiple people belonging to her own party during protest march today,” Bhandari wrote. West Bengal Mahila Morcha in-charge and BJP social media coordinator Lakshmi Singh also criticised the TMC chief, alleging that the video reflected her attitude towards party workers.Sharing the clip on X, she wrote, “Mamata Banerjee’s arrogance was on full display during a TMC protest. In a shocking moment, she slapped her own party worker—the very person trying to clear the crowd and make way for her.””If loyal workers are treated with such disrespect in public, imagine how ordinary people were valued under TMC’s rule,” she added.The incident took place during a protest march organised by the TMC’s youth wing after the Calcutta high court permitted the rally, subject to several conditions. The march was held to protest the alleged rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl in Baruipur and proceeded from Ballygunge Phari to Hazra Crossing in south Kolkata.The rally witnessed clashes between BJP workers and TMC supporters at several locations along the route, prompting police to use batons to disperse rival groups after tensions escalated. BJP workers raised “chor, chor” slogans, threw eggs at the procession and attempted to block the march by forming human barricades, while TMC leaders accused the BJP of deliberately disrupting the protest.Addressing supporters after the rally, Banerjee accused the police of failing to implement the Calcutta high court’s order permitting the march.”The high court allowed our rally, but BJP goons stopped it. How can the police undermine the court’s order allowing the rally? BJP goons beat up our party workers. Is this democracy?” she said.She also alleged that the police had acted like “an arm of the BJP” instead of ensuring the peaceful conduct of the rally.”The police cannot provide protection to common people and are being used to sabotage our programme,” Banerjee said.The BJP, meanwhile, alleged that TMC workers provoked its supporters during the procession, leading to the clashes.The protest was organised amid widespread outrage over the alleged rape and murder of the minor girl in Baruipur. Police have arrested four accused in the case, while one of the prime accused, Prabhas Mondal, was killed in a police encounter during a crime scene reconstruction exercise on Wednesday, according to officials.
