Fracas unfolds as woman jumps onto dais during CM's speech

Hemtabad: Chaos broke out during Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's public speech in North Dinajpur's Hemtabad, after a woman jumped onto the dais by breaching the four-layered security arrangement.

The Chief Minister was visibly annoyed at the incident and also pointed out the lapses in security. She, however, instructed the security personnel to make her sit on the stage and listen to what she had to say.

The woman, identified as a local resident, tried to throw herself at Banerjee's feet, when she was addressing the gathering. The security personnel on the dais acted promptly when she came onto the stage. It has been learnt that the woman's younger sister had also tried to climb the dais from the other end, but the security personnel managed to stop her.

She instructed Indranil Sen, Minister of State for Tourism, to check what had prompted the woman to jump onto the dais.

Attracting the attention of the security personnel and police, she said: "Do you see the lacuna in the security system? Let her sit on the stage. We must check what is the matter with her." The Chief Minister said that this was, however, not the right process to articulate one's problems. "The woman could have communicated her opinion by sending a letter to me," Banerjee added.

"No work can be done in this manner. How can someone run onto the stage like that? This is not the right way. One can write me a letter about his/her problems, if needed. One can have some issues, but jumping onto the dais and sitting on the floor in this manner cannot be supported," Banerjee said. A few minutes after the officials and security personnel talked to the woman on the dais, the Chief Minister said that the woman has been given a house under the Gitanjali scheme. The state government has also given a job to this woman.

Her family is getting the benefit of Khadya Sathi scheme, under which they are getting rice at Rs 2 per kg. "What else can she ask for?" Banerjee asked. She also added that despite getting benefits of various government schemes if anybody has any issue, he/she must follow certain norms to articulate his/her demands.

The woman later told the media that she wanted to talk to the Chief Minister, urging her to ensure action against her father's murderer. Her father was killed in 2015.

The woman said she had earlier tried to meet Banerjee during her tour in Malda district, but she was not allowed to reach the Chief Minister. She went to the state secretariat at Nabanna but nobody allowed her. Senior police officers of the state and district police are looking into how these women were allowed into the D-zone, earmarked for VIPs.

A high-level committee has been formed to probe the incident. The director general of police and director (security) will look into it.