The BJP on Saturday attacked the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal over an alleged video in which a state minister is abusing and threatening a woman forest department officer. In the video shared on the BJP handle, Bengal minister Akhil Giri is seen threatening and abusing the officer over the removal of encroachment. The BJP has also sent a letter to the Governor demanding action in this regard.
District Forest Officer Manisha Shaw and her team members were removing encroachment from the department’s land near Tajpur beach in East Medinipur district. During the campaign, the minister arrived at the spot and started arguing with the woman officer. The video of this incident is going viral. Regarding which BJP has raised questions on the minister’s actions.
In a video widely shared by the BJP, the senior Trinamool leader can be heard threatening the official and asking her to stay away from the matter. In the video, the TMC leader is heard shouting at a woman official, saying, “You are a government employee. Bow your head (in front of me) while speaking. See what happens to you within a week. If you interfere in this issue again, I will ensure that you will not be able to come back. These goons will ensure that you will not be able to go home at night.”
“Mend your ways or I will beat you with a stick,” the Correctional Administration (Prisons) Minister said in Bengali.
The BJP has strongly criticized this incident. The saffron party shared the video of the minister’s argument and called upon Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to take action on the matter.
BJP surrounded TMC on social media
The state BJP wrote on its social media handle, “Will Mamata Banerjee dare to take this minister out and put him behind bars? Will charges be filed against him for obstructing the work of government employees and insulting the dignity of a woman?” The party further said, “Let’s see whether this goon is sent to jail for indirectly threatening to kill and insulting the dignity of a woman or not.”
We oppose this: Kunal Ghosh
Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh said the chief minister and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are aware of the matter and are monitoring it. “We condemn Giri’s words and behaviour. It is undesirable. If he had something to say about the forest department, he could have spoken to Birbaha Hansda. Instead, the misbehaviour with the woman officer is unfortunate,” news agency PTI quoted Ghosh as saying.
He said Trinamool does not support such behaviour and added, “Party chief Mamata Banerjee and general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are keeping a close watch on the matter.” However, minister Giri alleged that the forest department is taking action only against poor people who have opened small shops, while many construction works have been done on forest land. He said, “The forest department is harassing these poor people.” However, the officer has not made any public comment after the incident.
BJP wrote a letter to the Governor
The BJP has written a letter to the Governor of Bengal demanding the removal of Akhil Giri from his post for his statements. In a letter to Governor CV Anand Bose, BJP leader Kaushal Bagchi has demanded the expulsion of Minister of State for Reform Administration (Independent Charge) Akhil Giri from the Council of Ministers of the State of West Bengal. Bagchi said in this letter, “Earlier, Giri had made anti-women and derogatory remarks on Her Excellency President of India Draupadi Murmu and this comment created controversy all over the world, for which he eventually had to apologize. But it seems that he has not learned any lesson from this.”
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)