West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faced chaotic disruptions during her speech at Kellogg College, Oxford, on Thursday night. The event, intended to be the highlight of her UK visit, descended into disorder as two groups of protesters interrupted her address.
Heckling and Accusations
The chaos erupted when Banerjee was discussing investment proposals received by West Bengal from various industries. Dr. Rajat Banerjee, who had traveled from Liverpool, questioned her credibility, asking her to name the industries involved. The Chief Minister responded, “There are so many. It may be IBM, it may be Tata,” which led to a major uproar. Protesters pointed out that Tata Motors had withdrawn its Nano project from West Bengal in 2008, citing it as a failure of leadership.
One protester, Sushil Dokwal, a British accountant who entered the event from a waiting list, and his friend, Jignesh Patel, shouted, “Tata ran away under leadership.” They were accompanied by several others, echoing similar sentiments.
SFI Student Protest
Amidst the commotion, seven Indian Bengali students associated with the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), which is aligned with the CPI(M), stood up holding banners. One of the banners read:
“TMC engineered violence in 2023 local elections.”
Another protester accused Banerjee of allowing Abhaya to be killed, to which she responded, “The case is sub judice and the central government has taken over.”
In response to the relentless heckling and accusations of “killing Hindus” and “selling human body parts,” Banerjee emotionally held up an old 1990 photograph of herself in bandages, saying, “This is not a drama platform. Don’t behave like this.”
Security Intervention
The situation spiraled out of control, with the audience facing the protesters and some shouting at them to leave. Eventually, security officials from the proctor’s office arrived to escort the protesters out.
Protesters Justify Their Actions
Jignesh Patel, who managed to bring in three placards without being checked, stated, “If we hadn’t gone, the headlines in India would be all creamy that she went to Oxford and spoke all her lies, so our intention was to show that is not the reality.”
CM’s Response
In a defiant tone, Banerjee asserted, “I am for all — Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs. I am for unity and you people are not. Don’t mention one caste only.” Despite the chaos, she maintained that the platform was not a place for political mudslinging.
