CALCUTTA, 16 May 2005 — Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee was yesterday roughed up and his clothes torn by Congress workers angry over the allocation of tickets for the civic elections here.
No sooner had Mukherjee, who is president of the West Bengal unit of the Congress, stepped out of his car to enter the party office to announce candidates of the Congress-led United Democratic Alliance, a group of Congress workers mobbed him.
The mob, livid over “denial” of party nomination to grass root workers for the June 19 Calcutta Municipal Corporation elections, pounced on Mukherjee, taking his security guards by surprise.
The defense minister fought back, leading to a scuffle in which his clothes were torn. He was allegedly slapped. The attackers also abused Mukherjee. Acting state Congress President Pradip Bhattacharjee was also assaulted. Several mediapersons were injured in the scuffle.
The free-for-all continued for over an hour. Gradually Mukherjee’s securitymen and other Congress workers took control of the situation and police were deployed in large numbers.
The Congress workers were angry over the denial of ticket to an activist in ward No. 55 and some other seats following a tie-up with the newly formed party of Calcutta Mayor Subrata Mukherjee.
The defense minister was blamed for giving in to the demands of Subrata Mukherjee, who left the Trinamool Congress to form the Paschim Banga Congress Unnayan Manch (PBCUM). The United Democratic Alliance, a new anti-Left coalition of the Congress and PBCUM, was formed on May 8.
Mukherjee was visibly shaken by the outburst involving some 250 party members.
“Police were not allowed inside the party office compound. But finally we went in and brought the situation under control. The defense minister wasn’t hurt in the incident,” deputy commissioner of police Javed Shamim said. “Angry party workers appear to have started the incident. They were not happy with the choice of candidates.”
Witnesses said Mukherjee fell to the ground during the brawl. “These things happen. It reflects the popularity of the Congress party and that people want to contest the election as a party candidate,” Mukherjee told reporters. The Congress, which heads India’s ruling coalition, is in the opposition in West Bengal state.
