'Was provoked by BJP leader, never intended to throw broken bottle at JPC chief': TMC's Kalyan Banerjee

The BJP members of the panel had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, demanding Banerjee's suspension from the House and lodging of an FIR against him.

New Delhi: : Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee on Tuesday said that his action of breaking a glass bottle in the meeting of the Waqf Board JPC last week, which led to his suspension for a day, was a result of a provocation by BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay. He said that his kin was abused and that he never intended to hurt Chairperson Jagdambika Pal. 

Banerjee said that while he has “great respect” for rules and regulations, he was also frustrated due to the behaviour of Chairman Pal who he alleged was partisan towards Gangopadhyay, a former judge of the Calcutta High Court, who has had run-ins with the TMC . 

“Before the meeting, Gangopadhyay made some allegations against me before the press in violation of the rules. On the day of the meeting, he had a heated exchange with (Congress MP) Naseer,” Banerjee said. 

Banerjee then said alleged that Gangopadhyay then started abusing. “He abused me, my mother, my father, and my wife. At that time, the Chairman was not present in the room,” he added.

He said that when Pal returned to the room, he took sides. “After he arrived, he was harsh towards me but soft towards him. This brought frustration to me. Then, I smashed the glass bottle on the table. I never intended to throw the bottle at the Chairman,” Banerjee said. 

In the meeting, after a heated exchange, where expletives were spoken by both Banerjee and Gangopadhyay, Banerjee slammed his glass bottle, breaking it. He was then accused of flinging it towards Pal, a charge he has since denied. Banerjee was suspended from the proceedings for a sitting. He further said that the Chairman has no power to suspend a member; only the Speaker does. 

The meeting of the JPC has seen fireworks routinely between the Congress and treasury MPs. On Tuesday, Opposition MPs carried out a noisy protest when administrator of the Delhi Wakf Board Ashwini Kumar was invited to give a representation. 

The Opposition MPs contended that a report submitted by Kumar to Pal and the Committee did not have the approval of the Delhi government. On Monday, Delhi CM Atishi wrote to Pal in this regard. However, Pal told news agency ANI that the Delhi CM’s letter was made public. “The letter was made public even before it reached me,” Pal said. 

The ministry of minority affairs was once again called to make a representation in front of the Committee on Monday.