West Bengal: Mob Protest Drives Coochbehar MP, His MLA-Wife Out Of Home
The politician-couple was conspicuous by absence in the area after the Assembly Election results on May 4: Reports
KOLKATA: An angry mob protest forced Coochbehar MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia to leave his residence at Sitai under his parliamentary constituency in West Bengal with his MLA-wife Sangita Roy Basunia early Tuesday shortly after their return to the address in the northern district following a gap of three months.
The politician-couple was conspicuous by absence in the area after the Assembly Election results on May 4. What infuriated the local residents more was their change in political stance recently.
While Mr Basunia switched to Nationalist Citizens Party of India from Trinamul Congress, his wife also followed his footsteps by changing her camp in Mamata Banerjee's party after winning from Sitai in the district this time and joining the rebel TMC MLAs, headed by Ritabrata Banerjee.
Disappointed, the locals started gathering outside Mr Basunia’s address for an agitation on Monday evening after learning about his arrival. They vented their anger by shouting ‘Go Back’ slogans when he and his wife entered their residence around midnight under tight security arrangements.
The police tried to pacify the demonstrators but failed. At around 2 am on Tuesday, Mr Basunia and his wife, escorted by the cops, left the address for another in the same district. The Coochbehar MP later said, “I went home to collect some documents and know the situation in the area.”
He added, “But some people started protesting outside my house. If I stayed there longer, political unrest could have happened. I didn't want it to happen and so I left home.”