Speaker condemns ‘police overreach’ at Banga Bhavan

Kolkata: Speaker of the Bengal Legislative Assembly, Biman Banerjee, on Monday strongly condemned what he described as “police over-activity” at Banga Bhavan in New Delhi and suggested that chief ministers from other states travel to Delhi and stand in solidarity with

Mamata Banerjee.

Earlier, in New Delhi, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee confronted police personnel deployed outside Banga Bhawan, on Hailey Road, on Monday, after allegations surfaced of harassment of families affected by the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal.

Speaking to reporters in his chamber at the Assembly, the Speaker said the episode amounted to an assault on India’s federal structure and claimed that the true dignity of the country’s democratic and federal framework can be upheld only if the chief ministers of other states extend their solidarity to the Bengal Chief Minister. “What is happening to Bengal today could happen to any other state tomorrow,” he warned.

The controversy centres on allegations that CCTV cameras at Banga Bhavan, located in Chanakyapuri, were disabled and the police conducted a search operation without prior permission. The Speaker questioned why police would enter Banga Bhavan at all.

“I fail to understand why the police needed to enter Banga Bhavan. The people who had taken shelter there are not criminals. They are individuals who have suffered losses and tragedies. Do they not have the right to come to Delhi? Is Delhi only for the wealthy?” he asked.

He termed the alleged harassment faced by Mamata Banerjee and affected individuals from Bengal as unprecedented and a breach of established decorum—especially when a sitting Chief Minister is in the national capital. He suggested that Mamata Banerjee’s visit to Delhi and political engagements had put pressure on the Centre.

“They cannot tolerate the presence of Bengal’s Chief Minister in Delhi. They realise their position is becoming shaky,” he remarked, implying that fear of political challenge lay behind the episode.