Suvendu Adhikari was a top Trinamool Congress leader before he switched to the BJP.
In the clashes today in Kolkata during a BJP protest march against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool, a BJP leader's comment gained much traction on social media.
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari was trolled by the Trinamool, his former party, for his comment to a woman policeman trying to control the protesters.
"Don't touch my body. You are lady, I am male," Mr Adhikari, the Leader of Opposition in Bengal, was heard shouting in a video that the Trinamool Congress shared on Twitter. He was apparently addressing a woman cop who was trying to take him to a prison van.
Insisting that he is a "law-abiding citizen", Mr Adhikari called for a male policeman. He was escorted to the ban by a senior officer, Akash Magharia.
He later said that he did not hit back, despite being "manhandled", as he respects women.
"I see Ma Durga in the eyes of every woman," the BJP leader said in a video posted on Facebook by party MP Locket Chatterjee, who was also detained.
Mr Adhikari was a top Trinamool Congress leader and a close aide of Mamata Banerjee before he switched to the BJP in the run-up to the 2021 Bengal election.
Several BJP leaders were detained by the police when they were marching to 'Nabanna', the headquarters of the Mamata Banerjee government. The BJP was protesting alleged corruption by the state's ruling party.
Suvendu Adhikari, Locket Chatterjee and other party leaders were stopped on their way to the building and taken away in a prison van.
The police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters near Howrah Bridge as they clashed with the security officials. A police car was set on fire by the protesters.