Lok Sabha MP and Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s office has been demolished in Amtala in South 24 Parganas district, allegedly because it was constructed without an approved building plan and he failed to reply to two notices sent by the administration.
A bulldozer was taken to the site on Saturday morning and a large police contingent was deployed in the area. The demolition was carried out after a security cordon was established around the premises, said an official.
The South 24 Parganas district administration first issued a notice to Banerjee’s office in Amtala on June 30. The notice sought explanations and relevant documents regarding various approvals and permissions related to the construction of the office. A second notice was served on July 7. The MP from Diamond Harbour was also instructed to appear before the district administration’s office on July 15 to submit his response.
Administration officials said no reply was received to either notice, and Banerjee did not appear before the district administration’s office as directed. “Consequently, the authorities decided to take stricter action,” said an official
Reacting to the demolition, the Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of “vengeful, violent politics”.
“This matter is already pending before the Court. However, a new culture has been introduced in Bengal – the bulldozer culture since the BJP came to power. What we witnessed today was an act of vengeance and dirty, violent politics, with ‘goonda raj’ on full display,” the party said in a statement.
After ruling West Bengal for 15 years, the Trinamool Congress was reduced to just 80 seats in the 294-member Assembly in this year’s elections. The BJP won 208 constituencies and former Mamata Banerjee aide Suvendu Adhikari took oath as chief minister.
Since the defeat, the Mamata Banerjee-led party has been facing a three-pronged rebellion, which began with a bulk of the MLAs siding with Ritabrata Banerjee, who is now the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. At least 20 Lok Sabha MPs also rebelled and joined the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India. Rajya Sabha MPs from the party have also resigned and three of them, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik, have joined the BJP.
