Abhishek Banerjee questioned for 4 hours over May 2 ‘Gujarati gang’ remarks against BJP

Mamata All India Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee was questioned by Kolkata Police for around four hours on Saturday over his alleged controversial remarks made on May 2, ahead of the assembly poll results announcement.

“Banerjee was summoned to Bhowanipore police station in connection with a case registered against him in May this year. He was questioned for a few hours,” an officer said.

On May 2, while responding to a social media post by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Malviya, the AITC MP from Diamond Harbour criticised the BJP in a post on X.

Malviya wrote: “The Diamond Harbour model crumbles.”

Responding to this, Banerjee wrote: “Ten lifetimes won’t be enough for you Bangla birdohi Gujarati gang and their stooge Gyanesh Kumar to put even a dent in my Diamond Harbour model. Bring everything you have got. I challenge the entire Union of India – Come to Falta. Send your strongest, send one of the godfathers from Delhi. If you have got the nerve contest in Falta.”

On May 2, the Election Commission of India (ECI) conducted repolls at 15 polling stations in the Diamond Harbour and Magrahat Paschim assembly constituencies in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district. The commission also said it was yet to take a decision on holding repolls in the Falta assembly constituency.

On May 4, the ECI announced the assembly poll results. Days later, on May 27, a complaint was lodged against Banerjee over his post on X.

“He not only insulted the Gujarati community but also challenged the Union of India. That’s why I lodged a complaint against him,” complainant Arnabkanti Biswas told media persons.

Meanwhile, a fresh first information report (FIR) was registered against Banerjee at Girish Park police station on Friday over his remarks against the state police. Speaking to the media on October 29, Banerjee had said he was maintaining a list of police officers acting on the orders of BJP leaders and that none of them would be spared once the regime changed.

“The investigating agencies are doing their job. I haven’t neither fled nor did I skip summons despite being harassed with false complaints. I am cooperating and will do so in future also. I have faced the ED [Directorate of Enforcement], CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] and police earlier too. I will continue to call the BJP Bangla-birodhi (anti-Bengal),” Banerjee told reporters after coming out of the police station.

Multiple FIRs have been lodged against Banerjee since the BJP came to power in May after sweeping the assembly polls.

“The people of Bengal know who is the real Bangla-birodhi and who has destroyed democracy in Bengal. He has a tendency to make statements that are anti-Constitutional. He has perhaps forgotten that his aunt (read former chief minister Mamata Banerjee) doesn’t run the government anymore. He won’t get any political immunity,” BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar told the media.