Trinamool Congress (MAITC) national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee alleged on Saturday that his Kolkata residence was attacked by "BJP hooligans" around 2 AM, calling it the seventh attempt on his life in six months. Police said clashes broke out between MAITC workers, who had gathered outside his Kalighat home to celebrate his 39th birthday (November 7), and BJP supporters, though officers did not officially name either party.
Eight people were injured in the clashes between 2 AM and 3:30 AM, of whom three suffered serious injuries, Banerjee alleged. Police said a large contingent was posted outside his residence and several people were detained, with the situation brought under control by the morning. Officers did not confirm Banerjee's claim that police personnel were also injured in the brickbatting.
Sharing a video on X, Banerjee said: "After two days of continuous recce, this is how BJP hooligans attacked my house at 2 AM today. Watch the footage and see for yourself. If this is what can happen to an elected Member of Parliament, imagine the plight of the common man in West Bengal." He alleged "planned attacks" at his residence and office, calling it "a conspiracy to kill me", and said he saw a police officer "slapped hard" by BJP workers while trying to control the situation. He sat on a dharna outside his home till 6:30 AM, hours after the violence had ended.
He also criticised the judiciary, saying: "Yet, there has been no police action and no judicial intervention... Thank you, Milords, for remaining mute spectators while all this unfolds," an apparent reference to the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court.
MAITC supporters alleged the BJP workers carried out an unprovoked attack while they were preparing for the birthday celebration. BJP workers countered that they were on their way to Kalighat to buy Kali idols from local potters for Sunday's puja when the clash broke out, and that slogans such as "chor" (thief) and "goru chor" (cattle thief) were raised after birthday banners and cutouts put up for Banerjee were allegedly torn down.
Bengal minister and former State BJP president Dilip Ghosh dismissed Banerjee's allegation as a "backlash" to holding birthday celebrations on a public footpath. "This is the first time we've seen a politician's birthday being celebrated on the footpath. If someone creates a disturbance, there is bound to be a backlash... Who has the time to kill Abhishek Banerjee? There is nothing left for them to say or do, so they are attempting to mislead people by bringing up this issue," Ghosh told reporters.
The clash followed a separate allegation Banerjee made on Friday, when he said unidentified men on a motorcycle had been conducting "reconnaissance" of his office and residence for two days, and that the men, when confronted, claimed to be police personnel. He sought the intervention of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and demanded "an immediate and thorough inquiry" into their identity and motive, while also accusing the West Bengal Police of "snooping" on him without authorisation.
No FIR details were available at the time of filing, and police have not confirmed the identities of those detained overnight.
(With inputs from PTI)