NEW DELHI, Apr 9: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Finance Minister Amit Mitra were today the target of the ire of CPI-M and its students’ wing activists with protesters manhandling the minister outside the Planning Commission here.
A group of about 150 protesters from CPI-M and SFI ambushed the Chief Minister and other ministers including Mitra when they arrived at the Planning Commission complex around 3.45 pm for annual state plan discussion.
Banerjee, who was advised by police not to get down from her car and drive inside, however, chose to walk through the slogan-shouting and placard-wielding crowd into the building.
While the Chief Minister was immediately shielded by policemen, it was left to Mitra’s lot to face the anger of the activists who were protesting the death of a SFI member Sudipto Ghosh in police custody in Kolkata last week.
As SFI and CPI(M) members chanted “Mamata Banerjee hai hai (Mamata down down), TMC hai hai, Hatyari Mamata sharm karo (have shame, killer Mamata)”, an agitated Chief Minister walked into the building shouting that “this is uncivilised behaviour”.
The 65-year-old Finance Minister was pushed and jostled around as he tried to enter the Yojna Bhawan building. A woman protester thumped him twice on his chest and his kurta was torn in the melee.
An angry Banerjee later vented her anger at Minister of State for Planning Rajiv Shukla and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
“You have created a new precedent here. My minister was assaulted. This is scandalous. There were 20 hooligans. Can you stop development of this state like this…Delhi is not safe,” she told them.
Banerjee also lashed out at Delhi Police for “poor” arrangements.
Shukla told reporters later that the Government condemns the incident in “strongest possible words” and that the Plan panel officials have already taken up the issue with the Delhi Police.
Later after the meeting, Banerjee claimed that the activists tried to hit her with an iron rod but was saved.
“I never expected this type of hooliganism. I have a right to meet my Prime Minister, my Finance Minister, the Planning Commission…If such things happen then Planning Commission cannot organise meetings,” she said.
SFI General Secretary R Banerjee denied that the protesters manhandled Mitra.
“It was a militant but peaceful protest. We did not manhandle anyone or tore their clothes. We want a judicial probe into the murder of Ghosh. We will protest everywhere Banerjee goes,” he said. (PTI)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel