Dilip Ghosh said he had gone out for a cup of tea when he was attacked (File)
West Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh alleged he was heckled today by the supporters of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and his vehicle was vandalised in Kolkata's Rajarhat-New Town area. The TMC has, however, dismissed the allegations and called them "baseless".
Mr Ghosh, who is also an MP from Bengal's Midnapore, said the incident happened in the afternoon while he was out for "Cha-Chakra" - a mass outreach programme of the BJP.
"Today afternoon, when I went outside to have tea with the locals as part of our Cha-Chakra programme, TMC supporters came out of nowhere and started abusing me. They heckled me and my security guards. Even though the local police was informed about the programme well in advance, they had not taken any step to ensure my security," Dilip Ghosh said.
"Every year I shift to a new house but ever since I have moved to Rajarhat, TMC cadres are threatening the owner of the house," he added.
BJP workers took out a march towards the state secretariat in protest against the incident but were stopped by police personnel at the Vidyasagar Setu over the Hooghly river. The party also took out a protest march in central Kolkata.
Reacting to the development, TMC Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandopadhyay dismissed the state BJP chief''s allegations as "baseless".
"Since last year's Lok Sabha poll results, Dilip Ghosh has been regularly making such baseless allegations. The TMC does not believe in the path of violence. The BJP's allegations stem from its illusion that the party is going to win the 2021 state Assembly elections," he said.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, criticised the TMC government in West Bengal for repeated attacks on opposition leaders in the state.
Dilip Ghosh lodged a complaint with the police about the incident.
The state BJP president has been heckled several times in the past.
The BJP emerged as the main opposition party in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, winning 18 of the 42 seats, while the TMC won 22.