What went wrong at Mamata's puja homecoming?

A security scare after a woman allegedly accosted Mamata Banerjee with a knife near her Kalighat residence overshadowed her return to Durga Puja festivities on Tritiya evening, prompting All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Dola Sen to raise questions over the protection provided to the former West Bengal chief minister. In an email to the officer-in-charge of Kalighat police station on October 13, the TMC joint general secretary alleged that Tannishtha Saha, a woman who claimed to be Banerjee’s niece, tried to approach the former CM in a violent manner and hurled abuses at her.Sen also alleged that the woman was carrying a knife and seemed to be intoxicated. The police subsequently detained the woman, according to reports. Though the allegations had not been independently established at the time of writing, the incident has triggered a political exchange, with Sen questioning how an alleged armed assailant could approach a person entitled to Z-plus security.Banerjee, who had stayed away from the usual round of Durga Puja inaugurations amid the political developments surrounding the Delhi protests, arrived on Tuesday evening to inaugurate the puja at Kalighat Milan Sangha, a neighbourhood club close to her residence. Dressed in a simple sari, Banerjee was preparing to inaugurate the pandal when the incident allegedly occurred at around 6 pm. According to Sen’s email, she was accompanying the former CM and Baishwanar Chattopadhyay, a leader of the Mamata Banerjee faction of the TMC, to the puja venue when the woman approached Banerjee, addressing her as “Pishi”, or aunt.Sen alleged that the woman tried to rush towards Banerjee with a knife before lying down on the road and continuing to abuse her. According to the complaint, the woman was known in the locality as a civic volunteer and was allegedly a drug addict. The email, sent at around 7 pm, was titled “Information under Section 173 BNSS disclosing cognisable offence committed against Smt. Mamata Banerjee”. Referring to three video attachments submitted as evidence, it requested the police to take cognisance of the matter and record the information under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which deals with information relating to cognisable offences.Sen alleged that the episode raised serious questions about the security arrangements around a person entitled to Z-plus security. “It is concerning that someone like the attacker could approach the gates of the residence of a Z-plus category security protectee, raising questions about a larger conspiracy,” the email stated.Dola Sen questions government’s intentionsSen also questioned the response of police personnel who were allegedly present at the spot. According to her account, she brought the matter to the attention of two policemen standing nearby, who identified themselves as personnel of the state police and allegedly said they could not intervene in an area under Kolkata Police jurisdiction. She further claimed that the woman was taken away by the police and offered tea.Raising the issue of Banerjee’s security, Sen launched a political attack on the BJP government led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. “Does the present chief minister not want the former chief minister to stay alive?” she asked.The remark sharpened the political edge of the episode, with the TMC leader alleging a serious lapse in Banerjee’s security arrangements.The police had detained the woman, according to reports, but further details about the investigation and the precise circumstances of the incident were not immediately available.Tapas Roy hits back at TrinamoolRoy, the state’s industries minister, dismissed the criticism by pointing to the TMC’s record during its 15 years in power. “CM Adhikari is sufficiently conscious about the security of the state’s former chief minister. During the last 15 years, was she (Banerjee) able to provide security to the mothers and sisters of the state, ordinary people and the business community? Now she is crying out. Has she forgotten her own tenure?” Roy asked.He, however, added that Adhikari would certainly take steps in connection with the incident.The exchange has brought the spotlight back on the security arrangements for Banerjee, who remained one of the state’s most prominent political figures after the change of government.A return to the Puja circuit amid political turbulenceThe incident came as Banerjee resumed her customary engagement with Durga Puja celebrations in her neighbourhood, following her presence at the protests in Delhi during Mahalaya. The inauguration at Kalighat Milan Sangha eventually went ahead after the initial commotion was brought under control. But the alleged confrontation outside her neighbourhood venue has since become a political flashpoint.For the TMC, the episode has raised questions about the security of its leader under the new BJP government. The BJP, meanwhile, has sought to turn the criticism back on Banerjee’s own record in office. The circumstances surrounding the woman’s alleged approach, the claims that she was carrying a knife and the questions over the response of the police are now central to the matter. The allegations in Sen’s email, including the claim of a possible larger conspiracy, are yet to be independently verified.Earlier in the day, Banerjee’s political outfit also sought to take its campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to the streets of Kolkata, with a protest march planned from Rajabazar to Park Circus against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the detention of opposition protesters in Delhi. The march, organised by the student and youth wings of the Mamata-led faction of the TMC, was stopped by police and central forces at its starting point, with authorities citing the absence of official permission.The protesters continued their demonstration at the spot, raising slogans against Gyanesh Kumar and demanding his resignation. Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh accused the BJP-led administration of obstructing a peaceful protest, alleging that security personnel had blocked routes and prevented supporters from reaching the venue.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- Ends