A fresh controversy engulfs West Bengal politics with an FIR against Suvendu Adhikari, the state’s BJP opposition chief, registered at Baligunj police station. The action follows accusations of communal incitement during Dol Jatra celebrations in South Kolkata’s Bhabanipur on Tuesday.
Adhikari mingled with sadhus, party supporters, and voters from the constituency represented by CM Mamata Banerjee. In candid exchanges, he decried ‘pseudo-secularism’ and ‘atheism’ as threats, rallying for a ‘grand Hindu alliance’ to influence forthcoming assembly elections.
CPI-M’s young leader Sanik Sur spearheaded the complaint to Kolkata’s South Division police, asserting the statements stoke enmity against secularists and non-theists, endangering societal cohesion.
Sur’s filed document, reviewed by outlets, emphasizes the unrest already triggered—protests and public disquiet abound. To reporters, he underscored that pluralistic peace demands rejecting such divisive calls, while chiding media amplification of the controversy.
Set against Bengal’s history of festival-politics fusion, this episode in Banerjee’s turf exemplifies escalating TMC-BJP hostilities. Adhikari’s unapologetic tone aims to consolidate Hindu votes, a tactic familiar in the state’s chessboard.
Police have acknowledged the FIR, but next steps remain unclear. This saga not only tests legal boundaries on free speech but also previews the vitriol likely in election season, urging vigilance for communal harmony.