Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Oct 3: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has alleged that former chief minister Mamata Banerjee's leg injury during the 2021 Assembly election campaign in Nandigram was “fake” and claimed that he has documentary evidence to support his allegation.
Adhikari made the remarks while campaigning for BJP candidate Hasirani Rath ahead of the upcoming Assembly bypolls. Speaking at Birulia bazaar in Nandigram II block, where Banerjee was injured during the 2021 campaign, he said he would make the alleged evidence public if challenged.
Adhikari said he had visited SSKM Hospital after becoming chief minister and claimed that a copy of the medical report relating to Banerjee's injury was in his possession. He alleged that the report prepared by her doctors stated “no fracture”.
He further claimed that the open door of Banerjee's vehicle had struck an iron pole on the roadside and rebounded, causing a minor injury to her leg. He alleged that Banerjee subsequently used the incident politically and brought disrepute to the Nandigram area.
“I will bring it out in the open, if I am ever challenged,” Adhikari said, adding that he was also the state's police minister. He also referred to the investigation conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) following the incident and said local leaders had been repeatedly summoned in connection with the case.
Banerjee was injured in the Reyapara area of Birulia in Nandigram on March 10, 2021, while campaigning for the Assembly election. At the time, she said that she had been pushed against the open door of her vehicle amid a large crowd, causing the door to hit her left leg.
She was taken to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata for treatment. Contemporary reports said medical examinations found injuries to her left ankle and foot, along with injuries and bruising affecting her right shoulder, forearm, neck and waist.
Banerjee was discharged from the hospital on March 12 with her left foot in a cast and subsequently continued her election campaign in a wheelchair.
Adhikari's latest remarks have revived the political controversy surrounding the 2021 incident, with the BJP leader disputing Banerjee's account of how the injury occurred and claiming that medical records support his version. His allegation has not been independently established by the documents he referred to, which he has said he would produce if challenged.
The remarks came during campaigning for the Nandigram bypoll, where political activity has intensified ahead of the October 6 polling.