After Abhishek Banerjee Attacked On Hometurf, A Moment Of Opposition Unity

The opposition parties in India are up in arms over the public assault of Mamata Banerjee's nephew, Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, as the Trinamool finds itself at a major political crossroads after losing power in its home state.

Abhishek Banerjee was pushed and heckled, and stones and eggs were thrown at him on Saturday in Sonarpur near Kolkata in an act that his former chief minister aunt claimed could have killed him.

The Trinamool blamed the BJP over the attack, but the ruling party claimed it was a mere expression of public outrage after years of oppression.

The Congress, Samajwadi Party, RJD, and other opposition have emerged in support of the Trinamool, trying to corner the double-engine government in the state over the allegations of "revenge politics."

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"Politics Of Revenge"

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi called the attack on Banerjee "utterly reprehensible."

"An attack on a Member of Parliament is not merely an assault on one individual-it is an assault on the very people who elected him, and on the democracy that is our shared legacy. This is the ugly face of the BJP's politics of revenge. Political differences can never justify violence," he said.

He demanded that both the central and West Bengal governments must take immediate action against the perpetrators, and ensure that no public representative ever has to worry about their safety.

Earlier, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had condemned the attack and said the lack of adequate police protection of Banerjee reflected the BJP's "politics of vendetta".

Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor had said it was "not good for politics" and that India's tradition has been to "express opinions through the ballot box, not through violence."

"Hateful, Violent Politics"

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who had been among the few opposition leaders to visit the Banerjees after the election loss, described it as a "heinous conspiracy" allegedly intended to create unrest.

"By getting a murderous attack carried out on senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee, the BJP government has proved that it can do nothing except indulge in hateful and violent politics," Yadav said.

Calling the attack "extremely unfortunate", Lalu Yadav's RJD said such incidents bring shame to democracy. RJD's Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said he had repeatedly warned that the Bengal elections were heading into an unprecedented phase of violence.

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"Some friends are saying that such things happened during the Trinamool Congress period too. But does that justify it? If it happened then, it was still wrong, and what is happening today is also wrong," added Jha.

The Sena (UBT), led by Uddhav Thackeray, too, sided with the Trinamool and asked who to blame, if not the ruling party.

"Following the conclusion of the elections, government-sponsored BJP goons attacked an MP on the street and pelted him with stones. What kind of political culture and tradition do you want to introduce to this country?" asked senior Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut.

"Such incidents have never happened in this country before, but they are actively taking place in Assam and West Bengal. If this trend continues, the entire country's democracy will suffer severe consequences," he added.

BJP Blames Abhishek Banerjee

The BJP maintains that it had no role in the attack on Banerjee in Sonarpur. BJP state chief Samik Bhattacharya said that people may have grievances with the Trinamool, but such incidents are unacceptable in a democracy.

State minister Agnimitra Paul, too, condemned the attack but held Banerjee responsible for it.

"This is public anger. For 15 years, you thought you were God. What kind of politics have you played? Eggs are being thrown at you, shoes are being thrown at you. People are spitting and abusing you in front of your house. You are responsible for this situation because you thought you could never be removed. And the public has shown it," added the senior BJP leader.

Banerjee was visiting party workers' families affected by post-poll violence in Sonarpur in South 24 Paraganas on Saturday when a crowd manhandled him. Visuals showed people heckling him and grabbing him by the collar. The police managed to rescue him, making him wear a cricket helmet to protect him from a barrage of stones and eggs thrown at him. Soon after, he called the attack "BJP-sponsored".

South 24 Paraganas is considered to be a stronghold of Banerjee, who is an MP from the Diamond Harbour seat here.