After some of their senior leaders were arrested on charges of corruption sparking protests throughout Bengal, a section of Trinamool Congress leaders have publicly threatened the leaders of Opposition BJP, Left and Congress for calling them thieves.
As protests against corrupt Trinamool Congress leaders intensified after the arrest of former Minister Partha Chatterjee and TMC strongman Anubrata Mondal, senior Trinamool MP Saugato Roy on Sunday said if the Opposition leaders did not mend their habits then they should be prepared for getting shoed up in public by TMC men.
"TMC never endorses corruption and the party has snapped all connections with people like Partha Chatterjee after getting sufficient evidence... But this does not mean that every TMC man is a thief ... a narrative that is being created by the Opposition ... they are shouting 'thief' wherever we are going ... I warn all CPI(M), BJP and Congress leadership if they fail to reign in their men then they should not complain or regret if they are shoed up publicly," Roy told in a meeting.
"BJP is shouting 'thief' but they are the fathers of all thieves ... They are looting the country with the help of private players... They are the 'chamcha' (stooges) of Ambanis and Adanis," he said.
Roy a retired professor of physics had earlier asked his party men to make shoes from the skin of CPI(M) and BJP workers.
Protests have intensified throughout Bengal — following the arrests of Chatterjee and Mondal — demanding arrest of other TMC leaders who are in the scanner of central agencies. Earlier senior advocate and TMC Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee too asked party men to thrash opposition workers if they took out rallies asking corrupt Trinamool leaders' arrest. The BJP hot back at Roy saying the senior MP was angry with the opposition parties because he was seen accepting money in Narada case
"Saugato Roy is a retired professor... But the way he is using unparliamentary languages is not acceptable... People will take account of his statements," said Bengal Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari. CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakrabarty dared Roy to send his men to shoe up the protesters saying, "Saugato Roy is a senior politician... He knows what he is saying... He is doing so to get additional marks from Mamata Banerjee."