Howrah, 17 July (H.S.): Amid preprations for the Trinamool Congress's annual Martyrs’ Day rally on July 21 in Kolkata’s Dharmatala, a political controversy has erupted in Howrah’s Shibpur area. Several hoardings bearing the image of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee were found torn down, triggering a verbal battle between political rivals.

The Trinamool Congress alleged that the incident was a “deliberate attempt” to defame the party and has pointed fingers at opposition parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M). However, the BJP has dismissed the accusations and claimed that the incident reflects internal factionalism within the TMC.

According to local sources, the hoardings were placed along Forshore Road and Jagat Banerjee Road, under the jurisdiction of Shibpur police station. On Wednesday night, unknown miscreants slashed the hoardings. The incident came to light on Thursday morning, after which TMC leaders filed a formal complaint with the Shibpur police station and demanded scrutiny of CCTV footage from the area.

Condemning the incident, State Food Processing Minister and Chairman of Howrah District TMC, Arup Roy, said, “This was a premeditated act of vandalism. The BJP and CPI(M) have joined hands to execute this. In 2021, CPI(M) votes shifted to the BJP, and now they are conspiring together once again. Everything will come to light once the police investigation progresses.”

Taking a sharp jibe at the opposition, Roy added, “These people are like animals; they have no human qualities.”

Interestingly, most of the damaged hoardings featured images of former minister Rajib Banerjee, while those bearing Arup Roy’s name remained untouched. This has sparked speculation in political circles that the incident might be rooted in internal party rifts.

Arup Roy, however, strongly denied such claims, saying,

“There is no infighting within the party. The investigation will reveal who is actually behind this act.”

Notably, Rajib Banerjee had once left the TMC to join the BJP but later returned to the party and is currently serving as a mentor to Zilla Parishad.

BJP state secretary Umesh Rai said, “Why would the opposition tear down TMC hoardings? This is the result of their own internal conflict. One faction is tearing down the hoardings of another. There are fights happening at every level within the TMC.”

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey