The Trinamool Congress leadership on August 4 directed West Bengal’s Correctional Administration Minister and ruling party MLA Akhil Giri to resign from his ministerial post and apologise to the aggrieved forest officer after a video of him verbally abusing the female officer surfaced online.
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Santanu Sen told local media persons that the party does not condone Mr. Giri’s behaviour towards the female forest officer.
“Trinamool Congress state president Subrata Bakshi has spoken to Mr. Giri over the phone and has directed him to apologise to the officer and to submit his resignation,” Mr. Sen said. “Only Trinamool Congress is capable of practising this rajdharma, no other party can do it.”
He added that Forest Minister Birbaha Hansda has also been in touch with the aggrieved forest officer.
Akhil Giri admits mistake but says ‘there is no question’ of an apology
“I admit that how I spoke to the officer as a Minister was inappropriate. But there is no question of me apologising to her,” Mr. Giri said on August 4. He claimed that the situation had escalated because of her and accused the officer of complicating the matter. “If I hadn’t intervened that day, a mob of 300-400 people would have gathered there to protest,” he added.
He also referred to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s statement in her public address on July 21, saying that Ms. Banerjee had appealed to the conscience of the people, and not to their wealth. “Where is the conscience of the forest department now? Twenty-two shops were razed down overnight,” Mr. Giri said.
In the video that had surfaced online, Mr. Giri was seen verbally abusing the forest officer, Manisha Sau, at Tajpur beach in Purba Medinipur district, for allegedly trying to remove shop owners encroaching on forest land. He had also allegedly threatened the officer by saying she would not be able to live there for long if she did not cooperate with everyone.
TMC’s ‘modus operandi’
“Akhil Giri’s actions represent Trinamool’s nature. Either loot money through intimidation or carry out a reign on terror,” Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sujan Chakraborty said.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shamik Bhattacharyya echoed similar sentiments and said harassing government officials is part of Trinamool’s modus operandi. “There is absolute lawlessness in West Bengal. The State’s constitutional framework is breaking down,” Mr. Bhattacharyya said.
