Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee will apprise Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla of the attack on him in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district and will also move court in the matter, party sources said on Monday.
Abhishek Banerjee was attacked with bricks, stones and eggs while visiting families affected by post-poll violence in Sonarpur on Saturday.
The TMC leader sustained an eye injury and alleged that the assault was “BJP-sponsored” and amounted to an attempt on his life. He further claimed that the police had failed to provide adequate protection.
Banerjee further alleged that political opponents were being targeted for questioning the ruling party.
“If you support them, you are a patriot. If you question them, you become a target. If you stand with them, you are celebrated. If you stand against them, they try to silence you,” he said.
Five persons, Akash Gayen, Kajal Das, Debashish Dutta, Nirmalya Sengupta and Tapan Maiti, were arrested in connection with the incident and produced before the Baruipur court on Monday.
The BJP condemned the attack but maintained that it reflected public anger against the TMC.
West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh said the incident should not have occurred, while attributing it to growing resentment against the ruling party.
“What happened to Abhishek Banerjee should not have happened. No one has the right to take the law into their own hands, but the public has been enduring what they've been putting up with for the past 15 years. Every single person has been harassed. The anger inside the public has to show up somewhere,”Ghosh told reporters.
The incident comes amid reports of post-poll violence in the State following the BJP’s formation of its first government in West Bengal, with the TMC reduced to 80 seats.
(With inputs from ANI)