If Rahul Gandhi is disqualified, why not Modi for hurting sentiments of women: Abhishek Banerjee

Kolkata: Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday asked if Rahul Gandhi can be disqualified for his comments about a community, then why similar action cannot be taken against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hurting the sentiments of women by his taunts against Mamata Banerjee.

The TMC national general secretary was speaking a rally at Shahid Minar Grounds here.

He also asked the party's legal cell to file a case against Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, seeking his disqualification from the House for "insulting" a woman minister from the tribal community.

"I may not support Gandhi's comment but I condemn the way he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha. In that case, why will the PM not be disqualified for hurting the sentiments of women by mocking West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with his 'Didi O Didi' taunts during 2021 assembly polls campaign? We demand that action be taken in that case too," he said.

The Diamond Harbour MP asked his party leaders to file a case against Suvendu Adhikari for hurting the sentiments of the Scheduled Tribe community in the state.

"Why will no action be taken against Adhikari for hurting the sentiments of the ST community for saying that minister Birbaha Hansda's place was beneath his shoe? Does this not tantamount to insulting the STs? He too must be disqualified as an MLA," he said.

Banerjee referred to a viral video clip in which last year, Adhikari was purportedly heard telling a group of people, "Debnath Hansda and Birbaha Hansda are kids. Their place is beneath my shoe."

PTI, however, could not verify the authenticity of the video clip.

Hansda had filed a police complaint against Adhikari.

Lashing out at the Centre over the misuse of central agencies, Adhikari said efforts are underway to malign the ruling party in West Bengal.

"Today, we are here to protest the Centre's step-motherly attitude towards West Bengal. If the dues of the state are not cleared, I will stage a protest in New Delhi and fight for our rights," he added.