New Delhi: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday condemned the alleged attack on Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee by locals during his visit to Sonarpur to meet families of post-poll violence victims.
"The attack on MP Abhishek Banerjee in Sonarpur is utterly reprehensible. An attack on a Member of Parliament is not merely an assault on one individual—it is an assault on the very people who elected him, and on the democracy that is our shared legacy," Gandhi wrote on X.
Blaming BJP for the attack, he said, "This is the ugly face of the BJP's politics of revenge. Political differences can never justify violence. The central government and the West Bengal government—both must take immediate action against the perpetrators, and ensure that no public representative, regardless of their party, ever has to worry about their safety. Abhishek ji, my thoughts are with you and your family. Wishing you a speedy recovery."
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla has reacted to the incident.
Speaking to news agency ANI he said,"... We have seen in Delhi that the leaders of Delhi who were previously Chief Ministers would get attacks staged on themselves...They should have the police take action. The police provided protection. This becomes a subject for self-reflection on what we have done that wherever they go, people call them thieves... No one should take the law into their own hands." he said.
Abhishek Banerjee during his visit to Sonarpur in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district was allegedly beaten up, his clothes torn, and eggs thrown by locals.
A video has surfaced showing several locals heckling and beating the TMC national general secretary. Banerjee was soon escorted out of the area with a police helmet.
