FIR against Bengal LoP Adhikari on CPI-M leader’s complaint of ‘communal comments’
Kolkata: An FIR against Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, was registered at a Kolkata police station on Wednesday, based on a complaint accusing him of making communally sensitive statements on the occasion of the Dol Yatra festival.
Adhikari on Tuesday celebrated the festival with the monks, local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers, and the voters of the south Kolkata’s Bhabanipur Assembly Constituency, where the sitting lawmaker is Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
During the interaction with the Bhabanipur voters, Adhikari made some public statements cautioning the voters of the dangers of “pseudo-secularism” and “atheism” and calling for “larger Hindu unity” in the forthcoming Assembly polls.
Later on Tuesday, youth CPI-M leader Sainik Sur filed a formal complaint at Ballygunge Police Station under the South Division of Kolkata Police, accusing Adhikari of making communally sensitive statements, and based on that police complaint, an FIR had been registered against Adhikari.
In his complaint, a copy of which is available with IANS, Sur argued that the comments by the Leader of the Opposition were not only politically provocative in nature but also capable of inciting communal discrimination and hatred against secular-minded citizens and atheist members of society.
“Suvendu Adhikari’s remarks have already caused unrest and protests among the public. The statements are capable of disturbing public peace. Communal harmony is essential for peaceful coexistence in a pluralistic society, which is now being put under threat in a roundabout way,” Sur later told media persons.
He also accused the media persons of allegedly giving wide publicity to such “communally sensitive” comments by the Leader of the Opposition.
The youth CPI-M leader also requested the police to take appropriate disciplinary action against Adhikari as per the legal provisions to uphold constitutional values. He also said that similar police complaints will be registered against Adhikari in other police stations in the state.