Mahua Moitra summoned over X post alleging exclusion of Muslim officers from Amit Shah event

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has been summoned by Diamond Harbour cybercrime police in connection with a case alleging that one of her social media posts had the potential to promote communal discord, police sources said on Thursday.

The Krishnanagar MP has been asked to appear before the cybercrime department at 11 am on Saturday for questioning, they said.

A senior police official said the case was registered following a complaint by a Diamond Harbour resident, who alleged that a post made by Moitra on her X handle had the potential to promote communal discord.

“The case was registered following a complaint by a resident of Diamond Harbour, who alleged that a post made by Moitra on her X handle had the potential to promote communal discord. She has been summoned by the Diamond Harbour district police’s cybercrime department on Saturday,” the official said.

According to police sources, the case has been registered under provisions that include non-bailable sections.

The summons relates to a post Moitra made on X on September 1, in which she alleged that Muslim officers in the state administration were deliberately kept out of a programme attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in north Bengal.

Moitra named some of the officers and alleged that certain Muslim IAS and IPS officers were either not invited to the event or prevented from attending it. She questioned whether they had been excluded because of their religion.

The post subsequently prompted a complaint from a Diamond Harbour resident, who alleged that Moitra’s remarks amounted to communal provocation.

The development comes amid heightened political tensions in West Bengal following the TMC’s Assembly election defeat and a widening organisational and legislative rift within the party.

The TMC’s 80-member legislative group has emerged as a major battleground, with 65 MLAs backing Ritabrata’s claim to the Leader of the Opposition’s post and rejecting the nominee supported by the Mamata Banerjee-led leadership.

The dissident legislators later convened a special session, elected senior MLA Arup Roy as chairperson and announced a parallel national leadership structure, claiming that the existing leadership had lost the confidence of a majority of elected representatives.

The confrontation also spilled into Parliament, with 20 of the TMC’s 27 Lok Sabha MPs aligning with the newly floated Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and joining the BJP-led NDA.

Moitra, however, remains aligned with the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC camp.

Known for her sharp attacks on the BJP and the Union government, Moitra has frequently used social media to raise issues concerning governance and alleged discrimination.