West Bengal Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee on Wednesday reacted to the alleged egg attack on Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, dismissing the incident and accusing her of dramatizing events. Speaking to ANI, Banerjee said, “As for Mahua, she does a lot of drama… the less said about Mahua, the better. Everyone knows why she was expelled from Parliament…”
His remarks came hours after Moitra alleged that she was attacked by a mob while meeting party workers at an eatery in her Krishnanagar constituency.Earlier in the day, Moitra livestreamed videos showing a crowd gathered outside the MLA office, hurling eggs and vegetables at her. She claimed she sustained injuries in the incident and alleged that the attackers were affiliated with the BJP.
In another video, the TMC MP alleged that West Bengal’s Director General of Police did not answer her calls when she sought police assistance to disperse the crowd.
Meanwhile, suspended TMC spokesperson Riju Dutta strongly condemned the incident, calling the attack unacceptable in a civilised society and questioning the police response despite security personnel being present.”…The change has taken place in Bengal. There is a new government in Bengal, and the people have high hopes. The new government is doing excellent work… When such good work is being done, why this culture of egg-throwing?… This cannot happen in any civilised society… Even the CM does not support this. Then how is this happening?” Dutta said.He further questioned how eggs and stones could be thrown at a woman Member of Parliament despite police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel being present at the spot. “I won’t get into whether or not they belong to the BJP, but a crowd has gathered; in the live video, it is clearly visible that the police and the CRPF are present, yet eggs and stones are being thrown. Can this sort of thing be tolerated in a civilised society?” he asked.Dutta also appealed to the Chief Minister to direct the police to ensure that such incidents do not recur.The attack on Moitra is the latest in a series of similar incidents targeting TMC leaders in West Bengal following the change in government last month, with several party leaders reportedly facing egg-throwing protests.