Ghosh, who is the BJP’s candidate from Bardhaman Durgapur in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, was earlier issued showcause notices by BJP national president J P Nadda and the Election Commission of India (ECI) over his remarks. This was after the TMC filed a complaint of poll code violation with the ECI against Ghosh.
The police filed the FIR (copy of which is with The Indian Express) following a complaint by two people at the Durgapur police station in Paschim Bardhaman district. It booked Ghosh under sections 504 (intentional insults and provocation likely to cause breach in public peace) and 509 (insult to modesty of women) of Indian Penal Code (IPC). Both sections have provisions for a jail term of two to three years with or without a fine.
Ghosh is alleged to have made the comments while speaking to the media on Tuesday. In its complaint to the ECI, the TMC stated, “Your attention is drawn towards Mr Ghosh’s derogatory words that are reproduced here: English transcript — ‘Didi giye Goa te bole ami Goa r mey, Tripura et ami Tripura r mey, baap to thik korun, jar tar mey howa thik noy’. English translation — ‘When Didi goes to Goa, she becomes Goa’s daughter; in Tripura, she says I am Tripura’s daughter, decide who is your father, this is not right’…”
Kajal Das Manoj Chand, both Durgapur residents, filed the complaints against Ghosh on Wednesday. They alleged that Ghosh’s comments were made with intent to insult Banerjee’s modesty and intrude upon her privacy.
The complaint by Kajal Das stated that it was important to note that Banerjee is the only woman chief minister in the entire country. The illegal acts and behavior exhibited by Ghosh create an impression that it is acceptable to insult a woman and go unpunished. The complaint further stated that if someone can insult a chief minister in the manner described above, anyone can insult a woman and get away with it.
Senior police officers were tightlipped over the matter and Ghosh could not be contacted after the FIR was filed.
However, on Wednesday, Ghosh reacted to the issue and said, “Controversy with my statement is not new because what I think, I say that. I have no personal enmity with the Chief Minister. I have no malice, either. Many people, including my party, have reservations about my choice of words. They said those words are unconstitutional. If my words hurt anybody, then I am sorry. But, when a TMC leader, who is also a family member of Mamata Banerjee, attacked our leader of the Opposition’s father (Suvendu Adhkari’s father, Sisir Adhikari), then no TMC leader criticised him. I protested that. The chief minister is female and that is why she has dignity and our leader Suvendu Adhikari is male and he has no dignity.”
Lok Sabha elections 2024 in West Bengal will be held in all 7 phases from April 19 to June 1 to elect 42 members, with the results declared on June 4 as part of the nationwide counting.