NEW DELHI: Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday staged a protest outside her nephew Abhishek Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata, alleging that “his home had been targeted in a pre-planned attack in the early hours.”She accused the BJP and the police of intimidating political opponents and said she might approach the Supreme Court over the “lawlessness in the state.”The protest followed allegations that BJP-backed miscreants had attacked Abhishek’s residence in the Kalighat area of south Kolkata during a Kali Puja celebration.Mamata alleged that the attackers arrived at around 2 am or 3 am. “There is complete hooliganism going on. People show up here at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning…”“If you have the courage to use a bulldozer, why do you come here at 3:00 in the morning with a gang of thugs to attack a Kali Puja celebration?.. We are carrying out party-related work here, and you are coming to disrupt it,” she said.Addressing the alleged attack, she challenged those responsible to target her directly. “Run a bulldozer over our bodies. We want to see if you have the courage. If you have the guts, we are here. Run a bulldozer over our books…”She also linked the alleged targeting of her and her party to the Trinamool Congress’s association with the INDIA bloc. “We are together with the INDIA Alliance, that is their anger…” she said.Mamata alleged that police personnel had blocked the lane leading to her residence and imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), disrupting preparations for Kali Puja.“Our puja is going on at home. There is work to be done, but the police are blocking the lane. This is Patuapara, where idols are made. Why are you preventing people from carrying out their activities,” she asked.She appealed to people, particularly women, to speak out against intimidation. Accusing the BJP of using money and the police machinery to target political opponents, she warned officers against acting in a partisan manner.“I know what your capacity is and how much promotion you will get, but do not cross your limits. If you cross the limits, I will fight you,” she said.Mamata also alleged that police personnel had smashed the ‘shakha-pola’ bangles worn by Bengali Hindu women as symbols of their marital status during the confrontation outside Abhishek’s residence.Later in the evening, after a confrontation between police and Trinamool supporters outside Abhishek’s residence, Mamata appealed for peace and urged party workers not to be provoked.She said that if police continued to restrict access and prevent supporters from gathering outside the MP’s residence, she would perform Kali Puja in front of the Kalighat temple.The former chief minister accused the BJP of relying on “hamla and mamla” (attacks and court cases) to silence political opponents through intimidation and what she described as false cases.She also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of ‘achhe din’, asking whether an alleged attack on a three-time MP in the middle of the night represented the promised good days.Abhishek Banerjee also accused the police of failing to stop the alleged attack, which he claimed continued until 7 am.
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“The attack continued till 7 am. Although the police were there. Some of them acted as silent spectators, and others who tried to stop the BJP goons were beaten up by them. The police who can’t protect themselves cannot protect the common people anyway,” he said.He also cited crime figures, claiming that around 2,500 rapes, 600 murders and more than 32,000 other crimes had been reported in the state between May and October.Earlier in a post on X, Abhishek alleged that the attack followed two days of surveillance and claimed it was the seventh attempt on his life in six months.“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 WB. This is the seventh attempt on my life in the last six months. Yet, there has been no police action and no judicial intervention. Hooligans are running riot across the state because the judiciary continues to turn a blind eye. Thank you, Milords, for remaining mute spectators!” he added.