A Police complaint has been filed on Monday against BJP National Secretary Anupam Hazra for his comments on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Hazra who was a former Trinamool Congress(TMC) leader before switching to BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections said that if he gets COVID-19, he will hug Mamata so that she understands people’s pain.
The complaint was filed in the morning by the TMC’s Refugee cell in North Bengal saying that the comments were derogatory against the head of the state who is a lady which violates the sentiments of people and is in violation of the Constitution.
The former TMC Bolpur MP on Sunday said, "If someday I am found COVID-19 positive I will go to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and hug her. She will understand the pain of those who have suffered from the disease and have lost their near and dear ones during the pandemic." These comments were made at a BJP party programme.
Hazra in the same speech went on to say, “She (Banerjee) treated victims of the disease pathetically. Their bodies were burnt with kerosene. Sons were not allowed to see the face of their parents who died of COVID-19. We don’t even treat dead cats or dogs like that.” Hazra however did not clarify his statement nor did he retract on his comment.
Hazra replaced Rahul Sinha as BJP National Secretary on Saturday. BJP leaders however have distanced themselves from the comment while saying that comments should be made with more responsibility.
Presently there are 2,47,425 COVID-19 cases in West Bengal with 4781 deaths reported.
