‘Suvendu exposed BJP by honouring chicken-patty vendor assault accused’
Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday hit out at the BJP and Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari for felicitating three men with saffron party links, who allegedly assaulted two chicken-patty vendors saying that Adhikari not only just crossed the line but also ripped the mask off BJP and exposed the “machinery” beneath.
Three persons were arrested by the Kolkata Police on Thursday for allegedly assaulting two patty sellers on Sunday during a Gita recital on Brigade Parade grounds. They were later let out on bail by a city court while denying the police’s request for a seven-day remand.
Adhikari felicitated the three of them the same evening, calling them ‘brave warriors’. Both the patty sellers belong to the minority community.
Trinamool Congress attacked Adhikari on Friday saying: “By felicitating the very men arrested for assaulting two chicken-patty vendors, @SuvenduWB didn’t just cross a line, he ripped the mask off the BJP and exposed the machinery beneath: terror, moral policing, and state-sponsored street criminals.” In a post on X, the ruling party in Bengal also stated: “What happened is a brazen declaration that @BJP4India has abandoned democracy and adopted hooliganism as its operating system.”
It also alleged that beating poor vendors is the culture of the BJP. “BJP’s religion begins with hate, thrives on intimidation, and ends in violence. Beating poor vendors is their culture. Honouring the attackers is their morality.
And now they want to decide your food, your culture, your life,” Trinamool wrote. It further stated: “If you dare refuse, their foot soldiers attack while he claps like a ringmaster in a circus of hatred. But Bengal will defeat them so decisively that no future demagogue will ever dare touch Bengal’s culture or dignity again.”
A video which was widely circulated on social media, showed that a vendor was questioned by a group of men surrounding him on why he was selling chicken patties near the Bhagwad Gita recital event. The patty vendor was made to do sit-ups, after which he was slapped when he was asked what his name was.
