KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday said the state government would launch a fresh inquiry into what he described as Mamata Banerjee’s “false claims” of suffering a leg injury during the 2021 Assembly election campaign.
Addressing a press conference at state secretariat Nabanna, Adhikari claimed Banerjee had faked her injury during the elections.
"Mamata Banerjee faked her leg injury during campaigning in Nandigram in 2021. We have the medical report which stated that there was no evidence of fracture or dislocation. We will initiate an investigation into the matter," Adhikari said, while displaying Banerjee's medical report issued by the Bangur Institute of Neuroscience.
"Her false allegation insulted the people of Nandigram. I will come out with more details after the MCC (model code of conduct) is lifted after October 9... Today, I am saying this in support of my claims made yesterday," he said.
By-election will be held in Nandigram on October 6 and the results will be announced on October 9.
Adhikari had made the claim while addressing a rally at Birulia Bazaar in Nandigram II development block, the same location where Banerjee had sustained her injury five years ago.
Banerjee, the then CM, had sustained injuries to her left leg and waist in Reyapara area of Birulia in Nandigram on March 10, 2021, during her election campaign.
Banerjee had initially stated that a few unknown persons deliberately pushed her against her open car door, causing it to slam hard against her left leg and crush it amidst a heavy crowd.
In a subsequent video message from the hospital, she recounted that the massive crowd pressed into her car while she was greeting supporters, causing her leg to get crushed and injured.
She was officially diagnosed with severe bone and ligament injuries to her left ankle and foot, along with bruising and pain in her right shoulder, forearm, neck, and waist and was rushed back to Kolkata and admitted to the state-run SSKM Hospital.
Following extensive tests, Banerjee was discharged on March 12, with her left foot in a cast and continued her subsequent campaign in a wheelchair.
The Trinamool Congress had registered an emphatic victory in those polls, with the party bagging 216 of the 294 seats and restricting the BJP to 77.
(With inputs from PTI)