Locket Chatterjee, the West Bengal BJP MP from Hooghly, took to Twitter on Thursday to reveal how she was stopped by the State police officials from joining the Hanuman Jayanti procession in Hooghly. The BJP MP said that she was on her way to a temple at Banshberiea to perform puja on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti when the police stopped her vehicle and denied her to go further by calling her an ‘outsider.’
The MP tweeted in Hindi, “Like every year, I was going to the temple to perform Puja on the occasion of Shri Hanuman Janmotsav following a formal invitation, but the police stopped me, citing an order from the High Court that stated that no outsiders could attend the programme. Are Regional MPs outsiders for Mamta Banerjee’s government? she asked.
Locket Chatterjee was going to attend a Hanuman Jayanti program at the fruit market of Banshberia. A procession was also organised on the occasion. But she was stopped at Banshberia Boropara intersection in the district around half a kilometre away from the venue.
संकटमोचक श्री हनुमान जन्मोत्सव में हर वर्ष की भांति इस बार औपचारिक आमंत्रण के बाद गई तब पुलिस उच्च न्यायालय के उसे आदेश का हवाला दे रही है जिसमें लिखा है कोई भी Outsiders कार्यक्रम में नहीं जा सकता। क्या ममता बनर्जी की सरकार में क्षेत्रीय सांसद Outsiders है। pic.twitter.com/T0eIBK9QOp
— Locket Chatterjee (@me_locket) April 6, 2023
In a video that the BJP MP shared on Facebook, she is seen arguing with some police officials, who reportedly stopped her from proceeding to a temple in Hooghly to offer prayers. ‘Mamata Banerjee’s police blocked me while going to Baansberia Hanuman puja at my Hooghly Loksabha constituency. Because I am an outsider. How Mamata’s police can tell this to a local public representative?’ she wrote along with the video.
The official cites the High Court order which states that outsiders are not permitted to enter Hooghly. The MP pulls out the order and reads it out to the officials. She reads the order which says outsiders will not be allowed and then shows her identity card and several other documents which show that she represents the Hooghly Lok Sabha constituency, and therefore she can’t be called an outsider.
She stated that she is sad to hear that she is called an outsider while she is doing lots of work in the constituency using her MPLAD fund, but the cops insist that she can’t go ahead as per the order.
She insists that nowhere does the order read that any leader or parliamentarian cannot join a Shobha Yatra, but the police keep persuading her to leave. Even after a lot of arguments, she was not allowed to visit the temple in her own constituency calling her an outsider.
As a result, Locket Chatterhee sat on a Dharna on the protest in protest against the Mamata Banerjee government. She shared a video of the same on Twitter where she said, “Is the Bengal Police allowed to call a regional MP an outsider and stop her religious rituals? Now in Mamata Raj calling regional MPs as outsiders and preventing them from going to the area and participating in programs is going to hurt the sentiments of the people,” she tweeted.
क्या बंगाल पुलिस को एक क्षेत्रीय सांसद को Outsiders बताने और उसके धार्मिक अनुष्ठान को रोकने की इजाजत है।
— Locket Chatterjee (@me_locket) April 6, 2023
अब ममता राज में क्षेत्रीय सांसद को Outsiders कहकर क्षेत्र में जाने और कार्यक्रमों में शामिल होने रोका जाना लोगों की भावनाओं को आहत करने वाला है।@BJP4Bengal @BJP4India pic.twitter.com/LuLyjiKefi
“It is the responsibility of the state government to maintain law and order. Mamata government has clearly failed at this front”, Chatterjee added.
“I told them to allow me to offer prayers but they (police) said that I am an outsider. I am not an outsider, I am an MP from here. I represent Hooghly. How can I be an outsider? I called the Superintendent of Police and District Magistrate but they did not pick up the call. I spoke to the Governor,” Chatterjee told reporters present at the site. “They have no answer why they have stopped me, all they are saying is I am an outsider,” she added.
West Bengal burns during Ram Navami celebrations while the administration looks away
West Bengal has been marred with violence ever since March 30, when Islamists unleashed mayhem in various areas of the state on the occasion of Ram Navami.
At first, on March 30, violence broke out in the Howrah district when a Ram Navami procession was allegedly targeted with stones. The violence then escalated and spread to the North Dinajpur and Hooghly districts over the course of the next three days.
Again, three days after Islamists unleashed mayhem during the Ram Navami procession in the Shibpur area of Howrah in West Bengal, a fresh bout of violence erupted in Rishra in West Bengal’s Hooghly district on April 2.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was taking out a ‘Shobha Yatra’ in the area. Miscreants pelted stones at the procession, leaving several people, including one of BJP’s local legislators gravely injured. Following the incident, prohibitory orders were imposed, and the internet was suspended.
On April 3, fresh stone pelting incidents were reported in the district Hooghly of West Bengal near Rishra Railway Station. The local and mail express train services were suspended after the incident.
While West Bengal continued to burn, the ruling dispensation led by CM Mamata Banerjee was busy whitewashing Islamist atrocities in the state by first invoking their faith and second, blaming the violence on ‘outsiders.’ She insisted that Hindus should not venture into “Muslim areas” to carry out processions.
RAF and Police personnel attacked
The RAF and Police personnel present to control the situation were also attacked by the rioters. They had to use tear gas to disperse the mob. One police vehicle parked near the railway crossing was also damaged.
