West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faced protests by a section of students during her speech at Oxford University’s Kellogg College on March 27.
In response to the heckling, the TMC chief pulled up an old image of herself from the early 1990s, showing her with a bandaged head, claiming it as proof of an attempt to kill her during her time in the opposition.
The drama unfolded when an audience member asked her about ‘specific investment proposals’ worth “lakhs of crores” that she claimed the state had received while Mamata Banerjee spoke about West Bengal’s development and investment opportunities. As the CM tried to respond, another member in the audience intervened. The CM argued the audience to stop as it was not a press conference.
Former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly was also present in the audience, according to news agency IANS.
Banerjee, who leads the Trinamool Congress, was speaking on ‘Social Development – Girl, Child and Women Empowerment in West Bengal’.
It did not stop here. Some members then asked her questions about the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case in Kolkata. “This matter is sub judice, this case is with the central government. Do not do politics here, this platform is not for politics. You are lying. Do not make it a political platform,” she said accusing those who asked questions of having a political agenda.
“You go to Bengal and tell your political party to become even stronger. I will answer you, first see my picture, how an attempt was made to kill me,” Banerjee is heard saying the video.
Amid the relentless interruptions, someone in the audience raised a question about the treatment of Hindus in Bengal.
“I am for all, Hindus and Muslims,” Banerjee responded which was followed by “Go back” slogans from a section of the audience.
The protest was led by members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI-UK), a left-wing student organisation, who accused Banerjee and her government of corruption and suppressing democratic rights.
“You should give me a chance to speak. You are not insulting me; you are disrespecting your institution,” the West Bengal chief minister said accusing the section of the audience of being “ultra-left and communal friends.”
“These people do this everywhere. They do it wherever I go. I support every religion. I support Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians. Do not name one caste, name everyone. What you people are doing is not right. The politics you people are doing, my ultra-left friends and communal friends don’t do that,” she said.
Amid the drama, Mamata Banerjee pulled out an image of herself from the 1990s, showing her with a severe head injury and bandages.
“First see my picture, how an attempt was made to kill me,” Banerjee said holding up the image as she spoke.
After the event, SFI-UK issued a statement taking responsibility for the protest, saying they opposed Banerjee’s “corrupt and undemocratic rule” in West Bengal.
Catch all the Business News, Politics news,Breaking NewsEvents andLatest News Updates on Live Mint. Download TheMint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
MoreLess
Leave a Reply