Lawyer files police complaint against Mamata over her ‘if you burn…’ warning

New Delhi: A lawyer practising in the Supreme Court has filed a complaint with Delhi Police against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her ‘provocative’ remarks wherein she reportedly warned that other states might witness violence and unrest if attempts were made to create trouble in Bengal.

Addressing an event to mark the foundation day of Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), the students’ wing of Trinamool Congress, on Wednesday, Mamata Banerjee said, “Modi babu, you are trying to create unrest in Bengal through your people. But remember, if you burn Bengal, Assam, Northeast, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Delhi will burn too.”

The Chief Minister, who’s under fire following the nationwide outrage over the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, also condemned the 12-hour ‘Bengal Bandh’ call given by the BJP on Wednesday, and termed it an attempt to ‘defame’ Bengal.

Taking serious note of Banerjee’s remarks, Vineet Jindal, a practising lawyer in the Supreme Court, has filed a complaint with Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora against the West Bengal Chief Minister.

“A complaint against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been filed with Delhi Police Commissioner. A copy has also been sent to the President’s office and the Ministry of Home Affairs,” the advocate said in a post on X.

According to Jindal, the Trinamool chief’s remarks were inflammatory with the potential of inciting regional hatred and enmity, thus posing a threat to national harmony and public order as a whole.

“Given the instigating and provocative nature of her statement, which intends to create disharmony and foster hatred and enmity among the masses of India, as she mentioned the name of Delhi in her statement as one of the states, I being a resident of Delhi respectfully request that an FIR be lodged under Sections 152, 192, 196, and 353 of the BNS against Mamata Banerjee. These offences are cognisable and serious in nature,” read the complainant.