Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], August 28 (ANI): Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of indulging in "political vendetta" after the party's signboard was removed from a building housing his office on Camac Street in Kolkata, alleging that a section of the police and BJP cadres were colluding to target the ruling party.
"This is a political vendetta. I want to tell the BJP that you are so afraid. You claim that the Trinamool has lost. If the Trinamool has indeed lost, then why is there such fear that you feel the need to break the party apart? Why the need to tear down office billboards? Why the need to implicate Trinamool party members in false cases? Why such fear?" Banerjee said.
He alleged that the BJP was attempting to weaken the TMC by poaching its MPs and MLAs and said the party would challenge the action in court.
"You are poaching Trinamool MPs and MLAs. We will take this matter all the way to the High Court and the Supreme Court," he said.
Banerjee further alleged that some police personnel were acting in coordination with the BJP and claimed that individuals in plain clothes had entered the premises.
"A section of the police and cadres is colluding with the BJP to appease them. We have seen individuals arriving without uniforms, ID cards, badges, or any police insignia, wearing plain clothes, posing as BJP cadres, to break the TMC board," he alleged.
The TMC leader said the party had already approached the Calcutta High Court over the removal of the signboard, with the hearing scheduled for Friday.
"We have already filed a petition in the High Court regarding the dismantling of the Trinamool board here. The hearing is scheduled for tomorrow. The Trinamool Congress will pursue this matter from the High Court to the Supreme Court," Banerjee said.
He also warned that the party would seek action against officials allegedly responsible for the incident.
"We will ensure the suspension of every single official who acted against the Constitution to appease the BJP. Let us see whether the power of the Constitution is more or the BJP's," he added.
The controversy erupted after Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials, accompanied by Kolkata Police personnel, removed a signboard reading "All India Trinamool Congress" from the building that houses Banerjee's office.
TMC alleged that police personnel used force against party workers during the operation. In a post on X, the party said, "What Kolkata Police did today will go down in history as the DARKEST DAY in Bengal," alleging that staff, female workers and female security guards were assaulted.
Earlier, TMC MP Derek O'Brien claimed that more than 150 police personnel had "illegally trespassed" into the building following the removal of the signboard.
"At 3:30 pm the Kolkata Municipal Corporation came with an illegal notice backed by the Kolkata police. The notice was not signed. The notice said a photograph was attached, but there was no photograph. The notice did not have any details," O'Brien said.
He alleged that police personnel later pushed and shoved party workers on the staircase and claimed that 10 to 15 TMC workers were detained.
Abhishek Banerjee, in an earlier post on X, accused the state administration of an "erosion of constitutional governance" and said the judiciary remained the "last line of defence" when fundamental rights were under threat.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Police said that 12 people had been detained in connection with the Camac Street incident.
The TMC subsequently put up another banner on top of the building housing Banerjee's office after the original party signboard was removed.
The incident comes ahead of the TMC's annual students' rally scheduled to be held in Kolkata on Friday, with the party alleging that the action against its office was politically motivated. (ANI)
"This is political vendetta": TMC's Abhishek Banerjee slams BJP after party office signboard removed in Kolkata
