Screenshot from video posted by Abhishek Banerjee
NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday met Sunali Khatun, who was brought back to India on the Supreme Court’s orders after being deported to Bangladesh on suspicion of being a citizen there, a day after she gave birth to her second child.Banerjee said that at the woman’s request, he named the boy “Apon,” meaning “one’s own” in Bengali. Khatun is already the mother of another boy, who is eight years old and was brought back with her from Bangladesh.The Lok Sabha MP also drew parallels with the Mahabharata, saying that “Duryodhana and Dushasana”—a remark likely aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah—would face “democratic retribution” for inflicting “torture” and “humiliation” on a pregnant mother. “In the Mahabharata, the Kauravas met their downfall because of the grave sin of violating Draupadi’s dignity out of arrogance. The modern-day Duryodhana-Dushasana duo will face democratic retribution in Bengal for the unspeakable torture, insult, and humiliation inflicted upon a pregnant mother,” Banerjee posted on X, sharing a video of his meeting with Khatun in the hospital.The TMC leader, nephew of party supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, added that seeing the baby reminded him of the “sacred responsibility” public representatives have to defend the rights, honour, and dignity of citizens. “At Sunali’s request, I named the baby boy ‘Apon’ because no power on earth can make our own people feel like strangers. They are ours. They belong with us, among us, forever. I shall visit them again soon to ensure they receive every support they need,” he wrote.Banerjee announced on Monday that he would meet Khatun and her newborn.The woman and her elder son returned to India on December 5, nearly six months after being deported to Bangladesh on suspicion of being its national. Her husband, however, remains in the neighbouring country.The central government brought her back on “humanitarian grounds in view of her advanced pregnancy,” following the Supreme Court’s directive.
