Kolkata: Baiswanor Chattopadhyay, the Member of the Mayor-in-Council (MMiC) and ward 81 councillor in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), has been summoned by the New Market Police Station in connection with a protest against the locking of the historic KMC Council Chamber. Sources said the incident occurred on Friday when Trinamool Congress councillors found the chamber locked, leading to an uproar.
Protest and Police Complaint
Trinamool councillors eventually held a session outside the chamber in the councillors' club room, marking the first such occurrence in KMC's history. Despite the chairperson's request, the room was not opened, the councillors alleged. They also protested in the office of the KMC secretary, who subsequently lodged a police complaint. This prompted the police to register an FIR the same day under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 126, 221, among others. In this regard, police sent summons to Chattopadhyay, Lalbazar sources confirmed.
Official Statements
Municipal commissioner Smita Pandey stated on Sunday that KMC filed an FIR against specific Trinamool councillors for heckling municipal secretary Kishore Kumar Biswas. "If someone heckles a public servant, we have to take legal action," Pandey said. Chattopadhyay countered, "The municipal secretary and others did not open the session room for us. According to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act 1980, the secretary arranges the session on the chairman's instructions. Without informing us or the chairman, the secretary closed the session. We held the session in the councillors' room and requested the secretary to come. If this is a crime, if there is a case, then there's nothing to say. They are trying to silence us through the police."
Legal and Political Reactions
Sources indicated that at least two Trinamool councillors are planning to apply for anticipatory bail, while another has already approached the court. State municipal affairs minister Agnimitra Paul said on Sunday that action will be taken against those who create problems. "We will take action against all such matters where politics is being done by obstructing the path of development," Paul stated. "Whoever you could be, a councillor, an MLA or an MP, just because you are in the opposition, if you feel you can heckle a government official and beat up the police, this government will not tolerate this," Paul added. Mayor Firhad Hakim earlier congratulated his colleagues on the protest. "All elected representatives have been gravely insulted. This has become a precedent. Suddenly, if I wish, I can close or open the House … but this is entirely the chairperson's responsibility. The situation today is very unfortunate. Therefore, I congratulate all my colleagues, the councillors who have come here. We will continue our fight to protect our democracy."
