NEW DELHI: A video showing Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee slapping a party worker during a protest march in Kolkata has gone viral on social media, triggering political reactions.The video was shared on X by BJP National spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari, who claimed that she hit multiple people from her party. “Mamata Banerjee has completely lost her mental balance after losing elections! Mamata Banerjee Hits Multiple People belonging to her own party during Protest march today,” Bhandari wrote. West Bengal Mahila Morcha in-charge and BJP social media coordinator Lakshmi Singh also criticised Mamata over the incident.According to the viral video circulating on social media, Mamata lose her cool during the rally and slapped a TMC worker who was trying to clear a path for her through the crowd. The clip shows the party chief walking amid a large gathering before briefly striking a worker standing close to her as supporters attempted to manage the crowd around her.Sharing the video, Lakshmi Singh wrote on X, “Mamata Banerjee’s arrogance was on full display during a #TMC protest. In a shocking moment, she slapped her own party worker—the very person trying to clear the crowd and make way for her.”“If loyal workers are treated with such disrespect in public, imagine how ordinary people were valued under TMC’s rule,” she added.The incident took place during a protest march organised by the TMC’s youth wing over the alleged rape and murder of an 12-year-old girl in Baruipur. The rally, which was held after the Calcutta high court granted permission subject to several conditions, began at Ballygunge Phari and concluded at Hazra Crossing in south Kolkata.The march witnessed clashes between BJP workers and TMC supporters at several locations along the route. Police used batons to disperse the rival groups after tensions escalated.During the protest, BJP workers allegedly raised ‘chor, chor’ slogans, threw eggs at the procession and attempted to block the march by forming human barricades, while TMC leaders accused the BJP of deliberately trying to disrupt the rally.Addressing supporters after the march, Mamata accused the police of failing to enforce the Calcutta High Court’s order that had allowed the protest.“The high court allowed our rally, but BJP goons stopped it. How can the police undermine the court’s order allowing the rally? BJP goons beat up our party workers. Is this democracy?” she said.She also alleged that the police acted like ‘an arm of the BJP’ instead of ensuring the peaceful conduct of the rally.“The police cannot provide protection to common people and are being used to sabotage our programme,” Banerjee said.The BJP, meanwhile, alleged that TMC workers provoked its supporters during the march, leading to the clashes.The protest was organised amid widespread outrage over the alleged rape and murder of the minor girl in Baruipur. Police have arrested four accused in the case, while one of the prime accused, Prabhas Mondal, was killed in a police encounter during a crime scene reconstruction exercise earlier on Wednesday, according to officials.
