Kolkata: Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Saturday charged the ruling BJP with pressuring hospitals not to admit her nephew and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee after he was allegedly attacked.
Speaking to reporters after visiting Abhishek Banerjee at Belle Vue Hospital, the former West Bengal chief minister said “those in power” were preventing him from receiving medical care. She alleged the hospital administration told her it had received “threat calls” from police, as reported by DNA.
“Those who are in power are threatening all the hospitals and the maximum authorities not to admit Abhishek Banerjee because they don’t want him to be treated. When I was sitting with the hospital administrator, he told me that he was getting threat calls from the police. Doctors are sad, but they are pressured,” she said.
Mamata Banerjee added: “They (BJP) have to work as per law, as per rule. They are not even allowing anyone to get the treatment. Infront of me, the police were threatening. They said they need permission. If any patient comes, then you need permission from the BJP party, who will be treated, and who will not. They have become inhuman.”
Rushed To Hospital After Attack
Soon after the attack, Abhishek Banerjee was rushed to Belle Vue Hospital. He accused his political rivals of orchestrating the assault, calling it “BJP-sponsored” and saying there had been an attempt to kill him. The BJP, for its part, condemned the violence and urged calm.
The attack occurred at Sonarpur, where Banerjee had gone to meet the family of one Sanju Karmakar — whom the TMC says was slain by “BJP-backed miscreants” amid post-poll clashes. Protesters allegedly hurled bricks, stones and eggs at him, leaving him injured.
Visibly shaken, Banerjee blamed a deliberate failure of security and accused officials of permitting the violence to unfold. “They wanted to kill me. The whole incident has been captured on camera. We will definitely let the High Court know about this. We will also let the Governor know about this. I will definitely move to court,” Banerjee said.
He directly blamed the BJP for the attack. “It’s all BJP-sponsored. Look what they have done. This is their example of democracy. It hasn’t even been a month, and the police are nowhere to be seen,” he added.
Banerjee also alleged that although the security personnel assigned to him alerted their superiors, reinforcements never arrived. “If the two security officials posted with me are reporting the incident to their superiors, yet no force is arriving, then it’s clear that the higher authorities want this incident to continue. We have everything recorded. We will go to court. I will go up to the Supreme Court to fight this case,” he said.
Describing the injuries he suffered in the attack, Banerjee said, “They hit my eye with a brick, and I can’t open my eye. I was wearing a helmet, otherwise my head would have been split in two. You can make my body fall, but my resolve is strong and stronger; the passion and enthusiasm are still there, and this head won’t bow down.”
