BJP, Trinamool councillors engage in scuffle in KMC house

The BJP representatives responded by calling Trinamool members “thieves”

Councillors of the BJP and the Trinamool Congress on Friday got embroiled in an ugly scuffle during an ongoing session of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). Videos of the brawl showed Trinamool councillor Asim Basu pushing BJP councillor Sajal Ghosh which led to an altercation between members of the two parties.

The KMC, which administers the civic areas in Kolkata and is the biggest municipal corporation of the State, was in session when its chairperson Mala Roy commented, “It is surprising that the Opposition does not have questions for the session.” The BJP representatives responded by calling Trinamool members “thieves” which precipitated the situation, according to the ruling party councillors.

Speaking to the media later, Mr. Ghosh said, “They are attackers. They attacked.” He alleged that issues relating to irregularities in buying uniforms for children of schools administered by the KMC were raised by the Opposition and the “attack” was the result of it. 

KMC Mayor and senior Trinamool leader Firhad Hakim expressed regret over the developments in the KMC House. “It should not have happened. However, there must be some limit to uncivilised behavior. Each of us has a social standing and people cannot make such allegations,” the Mayor said referring to allegations made by the BJP councillors. Mr. Basu too denied allegations of pushing the BJP councillor.

The KMC is administered by the Trinamool which enjoys a huge majority. The ruling party has 135 councillors while the BJP has just three in the 144-member body. Along with Mr. Ghosh, BJP councillor Vijay Ojha was also involved in the scuffle.

In the past there were similar instances in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly where the MLAs of the Treasury Benches and Opposition came face to face and got embroiled in scuffles.