Sedition Plea against Mamata for ‘Deadly Anti-national’ Speech

During the assembly election campaign and post poll debacle notwithstanding, passing frivolously reckless comments to trigger communal passion and disturb communal harmony has become a sort of hallmark of West Bengal’s former chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

Stung by a virtual split in the TMC legislature party which she claimed, could be a handiwork of the BJP, Ms Banerjee let loose a veiled attack against union home minister Amit Shah that could seriously endanger India’s internal security during her latest sit-in protest programme at city’s central district.

Referring to the tragic killing Osman Hadi, a popular youth leader of Bangladesh, last year, she threw a dangerous poser indirectly to Mr Shah without naming him “Whom did you employ to organise that murder (of Osman Hadi)? The STF (Bengal) had arrested a couple of major killers from Bangladesh which had caused a lot of controversy in Bangladesh. I know everything, but I won’t disclose it here today.”

Lawyer Rinku Chattopadhyay Sinha filed a written complaint and a case of sedition against Mamata Banerjee at the Siliguri Cyber Police Station on Thursday alleging that her remarks went not only against the interest of India’s internal security, they could as well endanger national sovereignty and damage diplomatic relations with India’s neighbour Bangladesh.

Alleging that remarks were deliberate, provocative and anti-constitutional, the lawyer, a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, said that Mamata had even claimed Bangladesh would be riven with internal strife if the names were disclosed at this moment.

Hush Up Attempt

When the assembled crowd sitting in the dharna demanded disclosure of the names, she quickly sought to manage the situation by saying "No, I will not say it, in the interest of the country. What did (the Union Home Minister) say then? 'Tell Bengal Police not to let this information come out. This is for the country.'

After a moment’s pause, the ousted TMC chief added “Who did they get killed through? Whose names came up? Even if the government changes today, remember, I know everything. My heart is a storehouse of words, a storehouse of information, a storehouse of truth. I will not abandon the party, leaving workers to drown, by chasing the assets."

Mamata’s ‘irresponsible’ remarks are not new. Even during the election campaign, she told the supporters in a public meeting, “If I want, I could immediately trigger a strife if one community turns restive against the majority. So, be careful and don’t fall into BJP’s trap,” she had cautioned.

Mamata’s latest diatribe has fuelled a political ruckus in the state and Opposition state Congress leader Adhir Choudhury agreed with the lawyer’s contention that appropriate legal action must be initiated against Mamata Banerjee for her alleged attempt to foment riot and worsen India’s diplomatic ties with Bangladesh.

“After that (the arrest) the Home Minister himself called me and said, 'I haven't said anything all this time, haven't spoken up, but now you have gone to the last limit of oppression'... I am not taking names out of courtesy. The people of Bangladesh will become agitated. I don't want that. I love my country," Mamata went on cribbing.

In the FIR, the lawyer wrote: "It is alleged that she (Mamata) made those accusations against the central government and the Union Home Ministry in front of the public and the media. She did so to diminish the image and credibility of the central government internationally and to create hostility between two sovereign nations. They (remarks) are aimed at serving her narrow political interest.”

According to the lawyer, if the charges are proven to be true, she would lodge the matter with the highest judicial authority of India in order to protect India’s sovereignty, unity and international standing.