Eggs thrown at 80-year-old TMC MP

Kolkata: Veteran parliamentarian Saugata Roy ran into protestors at a Nimta police station on Thursday as they shouted “chor-chor” (thief-thief) slogans and hurled eggs at his vehicle

According to cops, the 78-year-old Dum Dum MP had gone to the police station to submit a deputation alleging attacks on Trinamool Congress councillors in several parts of the Nimta-Birati area under the Dum Dum Uttar (North) assembly constituency.

As Roy was leaving the police station, a group of protesters surrounded his vehicle and shouted slogans against him. “An irate mob gheraoed his car and shouted ‘Chor-Chor’ while eggs were also thrown at the vehicle,” a local trader alleged.

Cops deployed outside the police station intervened promptly to prevent the situation from escalating further.

The MP said, “For the past two days, Trinamool Congress workers have been attacked in various ways in the Nimta, Birati and Bisharpara areas. They informed me about the incidents. That is why I had gone to Nimta police station to submit a deputation on behalf of everyone. While I was sitting inside the police station, I heard that a protest was taking place outside. When I came out of the police station, my vehicle was attacked.”

Roy, however, claimed that the protest was politically motivated and accused BJP workers of orchestrating the demonstration.

“BJP supporters gathered there and created a disturbance when I was coming out of the police station. They shouted slogans and hurled eggs at my car. This kind of politics is unfortunate,” the Trinamool MP said.

He said “This is a very bad culture...All these people are very low class. BJP’s has third class people. BJP has no control over its workers. Its leaders speak well, recite poems, and this is the condition of BJP’s lower level.”

The BJP, however, denied involvement in the incident and claimed that local residents were venting their anger over alleged corruption and irregularities during the Trinamool Congress regime.

“People are frustrated over corruption and have spontaneously protested. It has nothing to do with the BJP as a political party,” a local BJP leader said.

Reacting to the incident, BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said, “Democracy does not support such actions. However, it is clear that people have remained neglected for the past 15 years, and there is spontaneous anger among them.”

Senior state minister Nisith Pramanik said, “There should not be any personal attacks against anyone. But the things that have been done (by Trinamool) in the past has left people infuriated. But I will urge eveyone to refrain from such attack and be restrained in their behaviour. In the BJP’s tenue there will be rule of the law.”