In yet another display of aggression indicating intolerance of dissent, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee has threatened to “gouge out eyes and chop off hands” which are raised against the people of the State.
The 27-year-old MP from the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency made the remarks while addressing a party workers’ rally in Basirhat in North 24-Parganas on Monday.
“So long as Mamata Banerjee is there, whoever dares to glare at the people of Bengal, we can gouge their eyes out and throw them on the road. If hands are raised, we can chop off the hands,” the TMC leader said.
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However, he also said that the people are the “last word” in democracy. “We have to keep in mind that in a democracy, people have the last word. So we do not want anything that may harm the people,” he added, perhaps realising that his comment may snowball in the media.
And it did snowball as Opposition parties and social media criticised the young politician. Comments and criticism under #AbhishekBanerjee were trending during the day on micro-blogging site Twitter, while the Opposition targeted the MP.
“I will be moving High Court on Wednesday and demand his arrest. Abhishek Banerjee made some inflammatory statements which can instigate violence” asked BJP State president Rahul Sinha.
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While CPI (M)’s state Secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra refused to react describing Mr. Banerjee as “a little boy,” his party colleague Md. Salim termed the Trinamool as “a party of hooligans and goons.”