NEW DELHI: Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal’s remark on Sunday that “he was ashamed to live in a country” where an attack such as the one on Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee takes place has triggered a political row.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed Sibal, questioning his silence on other instances. “A person who mints crores as a lawyer; who spent majority time in power from Congress and now is in Parliament with the support of Samajwadi Party (SP) says he is ashamed to live in India!… They take ‘supari’ against Bharat because they have a problem with the BJP.””
WHAT KAPIL SIBAL SAID
Reacting to the alleged attack on TMC’s Abhishek and Kalyan Banerjee, Sibal said, “It’s shameful, absolutely shameful. I’m ashamed that I’m living in a country where this is what happens, where the political party in power will use any means to destroy whatever foundations of democracy. Our great leaders laid down when this republic came into be.”
“I was shocked yesterday when I saw on social media the manner in which Abhishek Banerjee was attacked. Now, obviously, it was a premeditated attack. Luckily, he was wearing a helmet, or else it would have been a fatal injury,” said Sibal.
He added, “Is this the way that after an electoral victory, you want to decimate the opposition through violent means? Is that the mindset of a political party that is in power? Is this the future of India? Is this the Viksit Bharat you’re talking about? And my friend Kalyan Banerjee, what happened to him again, his security was taken away. I spoke to him this afternoon. He had just come back home from the hospital.
And he said he was going there to lodge a complaint for this post poll violence and suddenly a stone, somebody threw a stone and hit the back of his head. He fell down on the road and supposing he had fell, fallen down and hit his head on the road, what would have happened? Anybody who hits the head obviously has intends to murder the person. So is there a charge of attempt to murder?”
“Has Om Birlaji spoken? Has the Home Minister spoken? Has the Chief Minister spoken? I mean, immediately after the election, we saw people burning the offices of the TMC, attacking supporters of the TMC. Is this the way that we are, this democracy is to function? …You want to decimate and bring fear into the minds of the opposition.
I mean, who would want to fight elections if this is the consequence? In every family, the family is concerned about those who support a particular party. And if they’re going to be attacked like this after the election, why would anybody, anybody support any party at all? Why should there be elections at all? I ask the CEC, is this free or is it fair,” he asked.
BJP QUESTIONS SIBAL’S SILENCE ON OTHER ATTACKS
Responding to the remarks, BJP National Spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla said, “Unfortunately, a person who has made crores of rupees by running his very successful practice in the Supreme Court of India has such a dim view about India’s constitutional institutions and in ‘Modi virod, does ‘Desh virod’ then attacks India itself? This is the same bunch of people who remained silent when the 2021 post-poll violence took place.
When Khagen Murmu, a colleague of his in Lok Sabha, his head was burst open. When Nadda ji’s convoy was attacked. In 2013, 2018 and 2023, Panchayati poll violence took place, and the Supreme Court had made a lot of comments. When the High Court said it’s not the rule of law, but the law of the ruler that is taking place in West Bengal. At that time, Kapil Sibal was completely eloquently silent.”
“And today, when it is now emerging that the attack on Abhishek Banerjee was actually done by TMC leaders, because the photographs have come out, and many TMC MLAs are skipping Mamata Banerjee’s meeting, it seems to be an internal fight. At that time, you abuse the nation just because you have a problem with the BJP, and this is the standard operating procedure, whether it’s Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress or Kapil Sibal.
You see, they say we’ll fight the Indian state, they disregard the Indian army in Operation Sindoor, they say democracy is dead, the economy is dead. So they take ‘supari’ against Bharat because they have a problem with the BJP.”
