Metro staff’s ‘racist remark’ case: Hakim to seek CM’s intervention

Kolkata: Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Firhad Hakim on Friday said he will draw the attention of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to the incident of an alleged racist remark made by a Metro Railway staff member against a passenger who was asked to speak in Hindi.

The Metro Railway authorities, however, has issued a statement claiming enquiry has revealed that such allegations are “baseless and untrue”.

On Friday, TMC councillor Arup Chakraborty brought the issue to the attention of the Mayor during the KMC monthly meeting and demanded that the matter be dealt with. He referred to a video which has gone viral and which purportedly showed Metro staff at the counter of Howrah Metro Station asking a passenger who was speaking in Bengali to speak in Hindi, remarking that this was not Bangladesh. Millennium Post has not verified the authenticity of the video. The councillor said that such remarks were regretful at a time when the Bengali language has also been given the status of classical language by the Centre. He said one should be respectful of every language and cannot prevent anyone from speaking a particular language.

The Mayor said he will draw the attention of the Chief Minister so that communication can be made to the general manager of Metro Railway. He said such acts will not be let go without protest.

Meanwhile, the Metro authorities issued a statement stating: “After the primary investigation, the allegation has been found baseless and untrue. During the investigation, CCTV footage was checked as the entire booking office area of Howrah Metro Station is under CCTV surveillance. On-duty RPF and other staff were also interrogated. No photographic and oral evidence have been found to substantiate the allegation.”