West Bengal Health Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee on Wednesday defended the egg-pelting incident targeting Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, saying the protest was a consequence of the ruling party's actions in the state.
Reacting to the attack on the Krishnanagar MP during a party programme in Kaliganj, Mukherjee questioned the criticism over the protest.
"What should she be pelted with? Should they be showered with flowers? Look at what they have done in the state. This is something that they deserve," the minister said.
The remarks came after eggs were hurled at the glass windows of a roadside TMC office in Nadia's Kaliganj, where Moitra was present for a meeting. The incident is the latest in a series of egg protests directed at Trinamool leaders in West Bengal.
Following the incident, Moitra alleged that the police failed to intervene despite the protest continuing for hours. In a post on X, she tagged the Director General of Police and the West Bengal Police, claiming officers did not disperse the crowd.
"For the past two hours your police have been watching the fun and not dispersing the mob. They want me to flee and they will pelt eggs or stones while I enter my car. Please do your job. Disperse the mob. I am in NH Dhaba, Plassey," Moitra wrote.
Mukherjee also commented on the arrest of former TMC leader Debraj Chakraborty, describing it as a positive development. Chakraborty, a former mayoral council member of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation and husband of former TMC MLA Aditi Munshi, was arrested earlier this week.
Welcoming the action, the minister said:
"It is good that he has been arrested. His name is Debraj, but his activities were like Ravana in Ravan Raj."
The comments add to the growing political sparring in West Bengal, where the egg attack on Moitra and Chakraborty's arrest have triggered fresh exchanges between leaders across the political spectrum.
