CM slams Mamata over 'protesters' remark on Baruipur violence, accuses her of appeasement politics

Kolkata, Jul 9 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday launched a blistering attack on his predecessor Mamata Banerjee over her remarks on the violence in Baruipur, accusing her of continuing with "appeasement, lies and provocation" despite the TMC’s defeat in the recent assembly elections. The political confrontation comes against the backdrop of the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in Baruipur, which triggered widespread public outrage and violent protests across the area. One of the prime accused, Prabhas Mondal, was killed in an alleged police encounter on Wednesday after, according to police, he snatched a firearm from a policeman and attempted to escape during a crime scene reconstruction exercise. The encounter -- the first such police action since the BJP government assumed office in May -- followed mounting pressure on the police over the crime. Amid the unrest, a local, Indrajit Mondal, was allegedly dragged out of his house and lynched by a mob that mistook him for one of the accused, prompting the BJP government to promise the strictest punishment for those involved. Adhikari has described him as innocent. It was against this backdrop that Banerjee, while reacting to the unrest, said that "protesters" were being arrested, drawing a sharp response from the chief minister, who maintained that those involved in the violence were rioters responsible for murder, arson, attacks on police and damage to public property. In a strongly-worded post on X, Adhikari questioned Banerjee's description of those arrested as "protesters". Addressing the former chief minister, he said that although she and her party had suffered a decisive electoral defeat and the TMC was now "engulfed in an internal battle between the real and fake factions", "there has been no change in you". He accused Banerjee of persisting with "limitless appeasement, lies and provocation", asking, "Have these bad habits still not left you?" Referring to the lynching of Indrajit Mondal, Adhikari said the victim was "called out of his house, identified solely on the basis of his name and identity, and brutally lynched by a mob." Questioning Banerjee's use of the term "protesters", he said, "These unruly people -- who set police vehicles on fire, assaulted policemen, uprooted railway tracks, created chaos, violated law and order, and tried to disturb peace in the area -- are they 'protesters' in your language?" The chief minister said the days of "hiding behind a mob to commit organised crimes" were over and asserted that all those responsible for the lynching would be brought to justice under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. "As there will be no leniency towards those involved in heinous crimes such as rape and atrocities against women and children, there will likewise be no mercy for those who lynch innocent people. Every person responsible will face the strictest legal punishment," he said. Adhikari also attached a video to his post, claiming it showed events preceding the lynching, and asked, "Are these the 'protesters' you are referring to?" The remarks came a day after the TMC's student and youth wings organised a protest march in Kolkata over the Baruipur rape and murder. Banerjee had briefly joined the march after it ran into disruptions and later criticised the arrests made by the police, saying protesters were being detained. Police said 20 people have so far been arrested in connection with the lynching of Indrajit Mondal, attacks on police personnel, stone-pelting, vandalism, arson and large-scale disturbances in the area. PTI PNT NN