Expressing her outrage over the threat calls to Leader of the Trinamul Congress in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that it reflected the growing intoleran
Expressing her outrage over the threat calls to Leader of the Trinamul Congress in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that it reflected the growing intolerance in the country. Describing the alleged threat to assassinate him as a “political vendetta”, she said that Mr Bandyopadhyay was being targeted because he had been raising certain issues in Parliament. Mr Bandyopadhyay forwarded the SMSes threatening to eliminate him which he received on his mobile phone to the chief minister and party supremo.
Ms Banerjee, who was in Digha for an administrative meeting, was interacting with a group of mediapersons when Mr Bandyopadhyay informed her about the threat. In a series of tweet messages, Ms Banerjee cried foul.
“What kind of vendetta is this Sudipda is getting death threats for being vocal in Parliament,” she tweeted. Only minutes later, she declared that she had no fear of death as her entire life was full of struggles. “Targeting the leader of Trinamul parliamentary party in LS is unacceptable,” she tweeted.
She later told the journalists in Digha that she had never in her four-decade long political career witnessed display of such vindictive behaviour. Although she did not name any political party or organisation, Ms Banerjee left no one in doubt which party she suspected to be behind the threat call. “I have asked Sudipda to lodge an FIR in Delhi and also raise the matter in Parliament. I have also asked him to inform Union home minister Rajnath Singhji. Every party has the right to speak on any issue. If they (the Modi government at the Centre) wants to silence the Opposition then it should impose Emergency in the country,” she added.
In Delhi, as the Lok Sabha resumed after lunch, Mr Bandyopadhyay raised the issue in Lok Sabha. “I received a message at 1.25 pm from an unknown number yesterday, saying I will be killed in Delhi and my body will be disposed in Kalighat in Kolkata. The nature of the language was also highly offensive. I responded to the message and I again received two messages at 2.15 pm and 2.24 pm today,” he added.
Mr Bandyopadhyay also pointed out that when he was seriously ill some eight months ago, there were cases of robbery at his house in Delhi forcing him to shift residence.
Responding to his statement, minister of state for parliamentary affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy assured him that the Central government would take every possible step for the safety of members.
