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West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has announced a fresh inquiry into former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s leg injury during the 2021 Assembly election campaign in Nandigram, alleging that the injury was misrepresented.
Adhikari said the state government would investigate the matter and claimed that a medical report showed no evidence of a fracture or dislocation. He said further documents would be made public after the Model Code of Conduct ends on October 9.
Addressing a press conference at the state secretariat, Adhikari alleged that Banerjee had faked her leg injury during the 2021 campaign.
He said he had access to a medical report issued by the Bangur Institute of Neuroscience and claimed it recorded no fracture or dislocation. Adhikari said an investigation would now be initiated into the circumstances surrounding the injury.
The BJP leader had first raised the allegation while campaigning in Nandigram, saying he possessed documentary evidence related to the case.
Banerjee suffered an injury to her left leg and other parts of her body in the Reyapara area of Birulia, Nandigram, on March 10, 2021, while campaigning for the Assembly election.
At the time, Banerjee initially alleged that unidentified people had pushed her against the open door of her vehicle amid a crowd. She later said in a video message from hospital that the crowd had pressed against her vehicle while she was greeting supporters, causing her leg to be injured.
She was taken to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata and discharged two days later with her left foot in a cast. She subsequently resumed campaigning in a wheelchair.
The 2021 controversy also prompted an inquiry by special observers appointed by the Election Commission.
Their report concluded that there was no evidence that Banerjee's injury resulted from an attack and described the incident as accidental. The observers also noted that she was surrounded by heavy police cover at the time.
This earlier finding is relevant to the fresh allegations because Adhikari's current claim concerns the circumstances and medical record surrounding the same incident.
Adhikari's announcement comes ahead of the Nandigram Assembly bypoll scheduled for October 6, with counting and results due on October 9.
He has said he will provide more details and documents after the Model Code of Conduct is lifted. The fresh inquiry could therefore bring renewed political focus to an incident that became one of the most prominent controversies of the 2021 West Bengal election campaign.
