TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh, who is aligned with the Mamata Banerjee camp, alleged on Sunday that his car was attacked while he was travelling to a programme in his Beliaghata constituency in eastern Kolkata, making it the second such incident involving the legislator in two days.
According to a PTI report, Ghosh alleged that motorcycle-borne attackers smashed his car's windshield with hammers in the Narkeldanga area, while one of them pointed a gun at his security personnel. He said he lodged a police complaint over the incident.
"Yesterday there was an attack on me at Uttarpara. Today, they wanted to kill me," Ghosh told reporters while showing shards of glass from the damaged windshield.
The incident came a day after stones and eggs were allegedly thrown at Ghosh's car in Hooghly district when he was travelling to attend a meeting of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Following Saturday's alleged attack in Uttarpara, Ghosh had taken his vehicle to the West Bengal Police headquarters at Bhabani Bhavan in Kolkata but was not allowed to enter the premises. He later filed a complaint at a police station.
Ghosh alleged that the attacks were being carried out by people backed by the BJP and accused the state police of failing to act.
"Under the BJP reign, a 'jungle raj' is prevailing in West Bengal and even an elected MLA is coming under attack by goons of the ruling party with the police looking the other way," he alleged.
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee condemned the alleged attack and urged Governor R N Ravi to intervene and speak to senior police officers.
"This is the second time in less than 18 hours that he (Kunal Ghosh) has been attacked," Abhishek said, alleging that armed men had targeted an elected representative because he had refused to change sides.
He urged the governor to speak to the Director General of West Bengal Police and the Commissioner of Police, Kolkata, and said those responsible should be identified and brought to justice.
"This cycle of violence and intimidation must stop," Abhishek said, while questioning the BJP's alleged use of intimidation despite claiming to have won the state's mandate.
"Political violence, irrespective of who is behind it, has no place in a democracy," he said.
The BJP rejected the allegations. Uttarpara BJP MLA Dipanjan Chakraborty accused Ghosh of "staging drama", while party spokesperson Debajit Sarkar alleged that Ghosh was engineering attacks on his vehicle by provoking TMC workers for publicity.
Union minister Sukanta Majumdar and state minister Agnimitra Paul also questioned the credibility of Ghosh's allegations. Majumdar said the incident appeared to stem from a rift between two TMC factions and that the BJP did not appear to be involved.
Ghosh rejected the claims and questioned why the police had not acted against those he alleged were responsible.
"There was a murderous attack on me. Why are the police not taking action against those criminals sheltered by the BJP? Can't an MLA freely move in his state?" he said.
(With inputs from PTI)