Exclusive/ 'He Called Me, Will Show Proof If...': BJP Candidate Hiran's Rejoinder to Abhishek's 'False' Theory

Kolkata: As Lok Sabha elections draw near, the political mercury in West Bengal's Ghatal constituency has surged at its peak. Actor-turned-politician and BJP candidate from Ghatal seat Hiranmoy Chatterjee (popularly called as Hiran) tore into TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee after the latter claimed that he wanted to join TMC and met him for the same.   

Addressing an election rally in Ghatal for TMC candidate Dipak Adhikari alias Dev, Banerjee claimed that BJP leader Hiran visited his office and wanted to join TMC ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. “We have closed the door for him. We also have the CCTV footage (of Hiran meeting meeting him at his office)," added the TMC leader. 

Hiranmoy Lambasts Abhishek 

Speaking exclusively to Republic, Hiran clarified the incident, saying that he met the TMC leader only after informing the BJP top brass including West Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari. 

“I informed the BJP leaders and then met Abhishek Banerjee. He was the one who called me repeatedly for the meeting. On his behalf, Pingla MLA Ajit Maity reached out to me and urged me for the meeting with the TMC leader. He (Banerjee) said that it will be confidential without presence of any media,” said Hiran. 

On Banerjee's ‘closed door’ remark, Hiran said, “Banerjee himself called me for the meeting and later during an election rally he announced that doors of TMC are closed for me. It has exposed the double standards of the TMC leader.” 

When asked about CCTV footage of the meeting with Banerjee, who also warned of releasing it, Hiran said, “The day he releases the CCTV footage, I will share every evidence of how many times he called, what he said.” 

The rumours around meeting of both TMC and BJP leaders made rounds last year and an unverified picture of the meeting surfaced on social media. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the controversial meeting took a political turn with Hiranmoy slamming the TMC leader. 

'Beiman TMC Candidate in Ghatal' 

Hiran upped the ante against actor-turned-politician Dev, TMC candidate from Ghatal seat, and accused him of investing the proceeds of cattle smuggling in production of films. 

“Before 2014, the TMC leader was never seen as a producer of Bengali movies. After winning the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, he became a producer. What does that mean? The money of cattle smuggling kingpin Enamul Haque was invested in the films produced by Dev," claimed Hiran. 

The BJP leader further accused the MP of delaying the construction work of a crucial bridge in the constituency. “On April 14, the TMC Candidate from Ghatal, who's representing the seat for 10 years, went to the people and apologised for not completing the construction of Setu. He did the same during 2019 elections.” 

Hiran, who's leading an intensive campaigning in the Ghatal constituency, claimed that voters complained to him about the Dev's absence in the last 10 years. “People have not seen him in the constituency. Only during the elections, the actor can be found in the region. Not only Bengal, but also his Lok Sabha attendance is shameful.” 

TMC MP Dev had the poorest attendance in the 16th Lok Sabha at 11 per cent. He spoke only twice and for a total of 190 seconds in the 37 days during which he was present in the Lok Sabha that sat for 331 days during its term.