They wanted to kill me: MLA Kunal Ghosh claims second car attack in 2 days

TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh, who is aligned with the Mamata Banerjee camp, on Sunday alleged that his car was attacked in Kolkata while he was on his way to a programme in his Beliaghata constituency. He claimed that motorcycle-borne attackers smashed the windshield of his car with hammers in the Narkeldanga area and that one of them pointed a gun at his security personnel.The incident came a day after stones and eggs were hurled at Ghosh's car in Hooghly district when he was on his way to attend a meeting of Banerjee. Ghosh said he had lodged a police complaint over Sunday's incident, while the attack also drew sharp reactions from Abhishek Banerjee and denials from BJP leaders.Calling it the second attack on him in two days, Ghosh told reporters, showing shards of broken glass from the windshield, "Yesterday there was an attack on me at Uttarpara. Today, they wanted to kill me." After the alleged Uttarpara attack on Saturday, he had taken the vehicle to the West Bengal Police headquarters, Bhabani Bhavan, in Kolkata, but was not allowed to enter the premises. He later filed a complaint at a police station.The Beliaghata MLA alleged, "Under the BJP reign, a 'jungle raj' is prevailing in West Bengal and even an elected MLA is coming under attack by goons of the ruling party with the police looking the other way." Responding later, he said, "There was a murderous attack on me. Why are the police not taking action against those criminals sheltered by the BJP? Can't an MLA freely move in his state?" Condemning the attack, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee urged Governor R N Ravi to intervene and speak to senior police officers. "This is the second time in less than 18 hours that he (Kunal Ghosh) has been attacked," Abhishek said. He added, "Armed goons have targeted and harassed an elected representative, allegedly because he has refused to change sides. If this is the state of safety and security of an elected representative, one can only imagine what ordinary citizens across West Bengal are being subjected to."Appealing to the governor "to intervene immediately and speak to the DG, West Bengal Police and the Commissioner of Police, Kolkata", Abhishek said every perpetrator must be identified and brought to justice. "This cycle of violence and intimidation must stop. The #VoteChor BJP must also answer a simple question. If it believes it has won West Bengal through the mandate of the people, why resort to intimidation and such tactics against those who refuse to change sides?" he said. He also said the people of Bengal deserve peace, security and the rule of law, and added, "Political violence, irrespective of who is behind it, has no place in a democracy." BJP leaders rejected the allegations. Uttarpara BJP MLA Dipanjan Chakraborty alleged that Ghosh was "staging drama". BJP spokesperson Debajit Sarkar claimed, "Ghosh is engineering the attacks on his vehicle by instigating TMC workers to get publicity, and none from our party is involved." Union minister Sukanta Majumdar and state minister Agnimitra Paul also said Ghosh's grievance did not appear to be genuine. Majumdar said, "The alleged incident appears to be a fallout of the rift between two factions of the TMC. The BJP does not appear to be involved."With Ghosh alleging two attacks in two days, a police complaint filed and political sparring intensifying, the episode has triggered fresh accusations between the TMC and the BJP over law and order in West Bengal.- EndsWith PTI inputs