Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress on Friday alleged that BJP activists assaulted a trader in West Bengal's Nadia district for refusing to donate money for a public meeting of Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.
Senior TMC leader and West Bengal minister Partha Bhowmik told reporters that the trader was thrashed allegedly by local BJP leaders and workers as he refused to pay for the expenses of Adhikari's meeting in the area.
The BJP denied the allegations of the TMC. BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, "We don't indulge in such activities which are the hallmark of Trinamool Congress. BJP never supports hooliganism or extortion".
Bhowmik alleged "BJP's mask has worn off, the party's true self to extort common people for organising its events and carry out atrocities on them has come to the fore. It has come to light how local BJP leaders had been tormenting local small traders in the handloom hub of Nadia for holding a public rally in the area. The trader has been seriously injured in the attack. What Suvendu Adhikari has to say about this."
The TMC in a post in X said, "Disgraceful!.. In Phulia, Nadia, a trader was brutally thrashed by the BJP Mandal Committee President and his brother when he refused to donate for LoP @SuvenduWB's public meeting."
"While the true colours of @BJP4Bengal are coming to the fore, it's a matter of shame to witness how people are vehemently mistreated by the same party that claimed to work towards the welfare and well-being of people before the elections," the TMC said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)