Kolkata, March 4 (IANS). An FIR was lodged against Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari at a police station in Kolkata on Wednesday. He is accused of making communally sensitive statements on the occasion of Dol Yatra festival.
Adhikari celebrated the festival with sadhus, local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers and voters of Bhawanipur assembly constituency in south Kolkata on Tuesday. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is currently the MLA in this area.
While interacting with voters of Bhawanipur, Adhikari made a public statement cautioning voters about the dangers of ‘pseudo-secularism’ and ‘atheism’ and called for ‘broader Hindu unity’ in the upcoming assembly elections.
Later on Tuesday, young CPI-M leader Sainik Sur lodged a formal complaint against the officer at Ballygunge police station under the South Division of Kolkata Police, accusing him of making communally sensitive statements.
In a copy of his complaint available with IANS, Sur argued that the opposition leader’s comments are not only politically provocative but also capable of inciting communal discrimination and hatred against secular citizens and atheists.
Sur later told media persons that Suvendu Adhikari’s comments have already sparked public unrest and protests. These statements are capable of disturbing public peace. Communal harmony is essential for peaceful co-existence in a pluralistic society, which is now indirectly under threat.
He also accused media persons of giving wide publicity to such communally sensitive comments of the opposition leader.
–IANS
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