Tehatta, Sept. 16: TMC MP Mahua Moitra was allegedly pelted with eggs by BJP supporters on Wednesday afternoon in the Tehatta-I block area of Nadia district. The attack occurred as the Krishnanagar lawmaker was leaving a party meeting, sparking intense political friction and casting a shadow over local law enforcement’s execution of Calcutta High Court safety directives.
The incident unfolded despite a high court directive issued just two weeks prior by Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya. The court had ordered the Krishnanagar police district to deploy two additional personal security officers for Moitra during her constituency visits, contingent on her giving 48 hours’ prior notice to the Superintendent of Police.
Moitra maintained that she had fully complied with the order, noting that a nodal officer had been appointed for her visit. However, a administrative lapse quickly came to light when Tehatta police station Inspector-in-Charge (IC) Supriya Ranjan Maji allegedly claimed he had no prior knowledge of her itinerary.
Hitting back on social media platform X, Moitra wrote: “Do you also have the BJP disease of short-term memory loss? Disgraceful.”
Standoff on the Ground
According to local sources, a crowd of BJP workers—including the local Mandal president along with the president and vice-president of the Tehatta-I panchayat samiti—had assembled near the venue carrying eggs. While police reportedly requested the crowd to disperse, the protesters remained stationed near the exit.
As Moitra moved toward her vehicle, police officers on scene urged her to step aside to avoid the crowd. The MP resisted, demanding that officers clear a safe path to her car and pointing out that egg-pelting in front of police amounted to a violation of judicial directives.
“According to the court’s direction, four police personnel were with me,” Moitra later told reporters. “During the attack, more police personnel came, but instead of controlling the protesters, they forcibly put me into the car. This is what is happening in West Bengal. The high court is saying this should not happen.”
Political Denial and Judicial Echoes
The BJP firmly rejected allegations of its involvement. State chief spokesperson Debjit Sarkar called the act condemnable if proven true, but questioned the narrative.
“If the incident is true, I condemn it. An incident of eggs being pelted at women is condemnable,” Sarkar said. “But it has to be seen whether the incident is at all true or she has made it up. I don’t think BJP workers were involved in it.”
The episode carries sharp irony, landing just weeks after an exchange in the Supreme Court. On August 7, a bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu reviewed a Calcutta High Court order directing Moitra to appear before an investigating officer over an allegedly provocative social media post. During the hearing, Justice Datta orally remarked on her expressed fear of public backlash: “Having taken the plunge into politics, you fear eggs? When our freedom fighters have taken bullets on their chest?”
Following Wednesday’s assault, Moitra referenced those exact comments in a direct message addressed to the judge on X:“Justice Dipankar Datta – MiLord I am officially both an MP in independent India & a freedom fighter today! BJP office bearers (NOT public) surrounded my mtng & pelted eggs as I left. Thank you MiLord for upholding our Constitutional protections.”
Wednesday’s confrontation marks a escalation in local tensions. Just last week in Chapra, Moitra faced black-flag demonstrations and “go back” slogans from opposition activists while exiting another political event, though no physical projectiles were used on that occasion.
Local authorities have yet to clarify why the deployment of the court-mandated security detail failed to prevent the crowd from closing in on the MP.