A video has emerged of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s visit to Nandigram on Wednesday, 10 March, following which she reportedly sustained severe injuries.
"Four or five people came in front of the car and pushed the door. This was done purposely," the CM had said right after the incident, adding that no local police was present at the spot when the incident took place.
However, a debate has since raged on about whether Mamata Bannerjee was really attacked or not. The video may help in offering some clarity over the finer details.
WHAT CAN BE SEEN IN THE VIDEO?
In the video, which is essentially a recording of another recording from that day, Banerjee, like many other political leaders do during a rally, is standing on the footboard of her SUV as it moves slowly forward. The passenger door next to her is open, and Banerjee has an arm sticking out of the window and encircling the window frame as she does ‘namaskar’. The crowd surges around her.
This video is believed to end right before there is a sudden motion, the crowd presses forward, Banerjee falls and the door slams.
THE ONGOING DEBATE
On Thursday, the doctor treating her said that Mamata Banerjee has suffered severe bone injuries on her ankle and shoulder. She was also running a slight fever and the doctor added that she will be kept under observation for 48 hours.
In the meantime, however, social media was already flooded with opinions about the incident, ranging from unequivocal condemnation of the alleged attack to the incident being dubbed “nautanki”. Needless to say, the urgent social media pronouncements were helped by the fact that West Bengal is a poll-bound state and all eyes are presently east.
While many political figures have come forward to express solidarity with Banerjee, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems anxious to thwart her claims of having been attacked in Nandigram and is eager to establish that she was “doing drama for sympathy”.
BACKGROUND
Mamata Banerjee, in a video from the hospital in Kolkata on Thursday, 11 March, appealed to everyone to maintain peace and refrain from doing anything that can cause inconvenience to the public, a day after the alleged attack on her in Nandigram.
"It is true that I was badly hurt yesterday and my hand, my leg, and my ligament are injured. I also experienced severe pain in my head and my chest yesterday after receiving such a big injury. I was standing near the bonnet of the car when I was pushed strongly against it and the car pressed into my leg. In such a state, I took whatever medicines I had and immediately left for Kolkata. Since then, I have been in the care of doctors," Banerjee said in a video message on Thursday.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)