Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Wednesday became the latest leader from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) to be targeted in an egg-pelting incident after a group of people allegedly hurled eggs
at the eatery where she was meeting party workers in West Bengal.
The incident was captured from both sides, with two videos surfacing shortly afterwards. One video, apparently filmed by those carrying out the protest, shows a group of men and women standing outside the eatery, hurling eggs towards the establishment while raising slogans as traffic continues to move on the adjoining road.
The second video was recorded from inside the eatery by Moitra herself. The footage shows eggs striking the windows as the Krishnanagar MP films the incident on her mobile phone while seated with local TMC leaders and party workers.
As eggs continue to hit the glass panes, Moitra is heard accusing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers of orchestrating the attack.
The videos have since gone viral on social media, with the TMC alleging that BJP supporters were behind the incident. There was no immediate response from the BJP on the allegation.
In a video shared after the incident, Moitra alleged that despite informing the police about the gathering outside the eatery, no action was taken to prevent the attack. Showing egg stains and vegetable pieces that she said had struck her during the protest, the TMC MP accused the police of remaining passive as protesters targeted the premises.
Wednesday’s incident involving Moitra is the latest in a string of egg-pelting attacks that have targeted Trinamool Congress leaders since the Assembly election results. On June 7, residents hurled eggs at a police vehicle carrying TMC leader Sujoy Hazra in Midnapore over allegations that he had taken money for housing construction without delivering promised homes.
The same day, eggs were also thrown at Kolkata councillors Bappaditya Dasgupta and Md Jasimuddin as they were escorted by police following criminal cases against them. Udayan Guha was similarly targeted on June 18, while TMC leader Vijay Singh was pelted with eggs outside an Asansol court on June 19 by protesters shouting “chor, chor”.
The spate of incidents eventually prompted the Trinamool Congress to move the Calcutta High Court, seeking judicial intervention over what it described as coordinated attacks on its MPs, MLAs and party workers.
The Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal government to ensure that police register First Information Reports (FIRs) in every instance of egg-pelting, irrespective of whether the target is an accused person or a political opponent.
Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), a division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee observed that no individual could be deprived of their fundamental rights merely because they were an accused or belonged to a rival political camp. The bench said isolated arrests would not solve the problem and stressed that the state had a responsibility to curb the growing trend of such attacks.
The High Court directed the state government to ensure FIRs are registered in all such cases and asked it to submit an affidavit by July 20 detailing the number of FIRs lodged and the measures taken to tackle the menace. It also instructed the government to frame guidelines aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future.
The court’s observations came after the state government informed the bench that it did not support people taking the law into their own hands and that arrests had already been made in some egg-pelting cases.
