The CPM alleged that Trinamool Congress supporters vandalised the Left party’s office at Dinahata in Cooch Behar district on Friday, after a verbal duel between minister and local MLA Udayan Guha and CPM leader Minakshi Mukherjee.
Minakshi, the state secretary of the DYFI and the CPM's central committee member, addressed a public meeting at Mathabhanga on Thursday.
“We keep people like Udayan Guha in our pockets. Dinhata is not their ancestral property,” she said at the Cooch Behar district conference of the DYFI.
It may be mentioned that Dinhata the home turf of Guha, who is also known for often making aggressive political statements. His father Kamal Guha, a veteran Forward Bloc leader who was also a minister in the erstwhile Left Front government, was also the MLA from the same seat.
On Friday, Guha, when referring to Minakshi’s comments, retorted.
“Minakshi Mukherjee has said that she can keep me in her pocket. The pocket has become so large in 34 years’ rule that a man like Udayan Guha, who is tall and weighs 90 kilos, can be kept in it,” said Guha.
“She has also said that Dinhata is not my father’s property. My father has worked here for years for people, and I am following the same path. I would challenge her to come to Dinhata and manifest her enthusiasm,” the minister added.
Soon after Guha’s reaction, a group of TMC supporters attacked the CPM office in Dinhata town, alleged Ananta Roy, the district CPM secretary.
“At around 2 pm, the TMC supporters barged into our office in Dinhata. They took down our party flag and also locked it from the outside,” said Roy.
Earlier, TMC had ransacked the same office a number of times. Tomorrow, we will visit the party office and will also take legal steps,” the senior CPM leader added.
Later in the evening, when Guha was told about CPM’s allegation, he denied the charges.
“I do not have any information that the CPM office has been ransacked. A CPM leader has said that she can put me in her pocket. How can we have so much power that we would ransack their office?” said the minister.