TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as an MP for his statements against ‘Modi surname’, asking why was a similar action not taken against the PM for “hurting the sentiments of women by his taunts against Mamata Banerjee.”
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Speaking at a rally at Shahid Minar Grounds in West Bengal, Banerjee demanded action against PM Modi, reported news agency PTI. “I may not support Gandhi’s comment but I condemn the way he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha. In that case, why will the PM not be disqualified for hurting the sentiments of women by mocking West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with his ‘Didi O Didi’ taunts during the 2021 assembly polls campaign?,” the TMC leader said.
Banerjee also demanded action against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari for “insulting a woman minister from the tribal community” – referring to a video clip last year in which Adhikari was purportedly heard telling a group of people, “Debnath Hansda and Birbaha Hansda are kids, their place is beneath my shoe,” reported PTI.
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“Why will no action be taken against Adhikari for hurting the sentiments of the ST community for saying that minister Birbaha Hansda’s place was beneath his shoe? Does this not tantamount to insulting the STs? He too must be disqualified as an MLA,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as an MP after a Gujarat court convicted him in a criminal defamation case for a remark he made in 2019 about the Modi surname. During a rally in Karnataka’s Kolar, Gandhi had said he wonders how “all thieves have Modi as the common surname”.
On Monday, Gandhi was also asked to vacate his 12 Tughlaq Lane residence as a disqualified MP cannot stay in a government bungalow and is given a month to vacate it as per rules.
(With inputs from PTI)