West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh on 27 September sharply dismissed allegations of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) involvement in the attack on All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Kunal Ghosh's vehicle in Hooghly, questioning the timing and circumstances of the incident. The rebuttal deepens the political friction between the ruling TMC and the BJP in the state ahead of continued public mobilisation by both parties.

What Happened in Hooghly

Kunal Ghosh, a TMC MLA, was travelling to attend a rally addressed by party chief Mamata Banerjee when a mob surrounded his vehicle, banged on it, and threw eggs and stones. The crowd also raised slogans of 'Kunal Ghosh go back.' Video footage of the incident shows the rear windshield of the vehicle shattered. Ghosh was subsequently forced to turn back to Kolkata.

'This is jungle raj. They attacked my car with stones and eggs and blocked the road. No police personnel were present there. I am now returning to Kolkata and will go straight to Lal Bazaar or Bhawani Bhawan to lodge a complaint,' Kunal Ghosh said following the incident.

Dilip Ghosh's Counter-Claims

Reacting to the episode, West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh questioned the sequence of events, pointing out that the rally was scheduled for the evening while Kunal Ghosh was reportedly travelling in the morning. 'The public meeting was in the evening, and they were travelling in the morning. Why were they going, where were they going, and who pelted stones? BJP has no role in this…' he said.

Ghosh also accused the TMC of orchestrating the controversy for media visibility, rejecting claims that BJP workers were trying to prevent TMC leaders from holding public meetings.

Allegations of Political Theatrics

'They held several public meetings and delivered speeches, and no one stopped them. They are only making such claims because they have no people and their meetings are not happening, so they want to make such statements to get media coverage. Nothing else…' Dilip Ghosh said, dismissing the TMC narrative.

The minister also took a broader swipe at the political record of Mamata Banerjee's administration, alleging significant voter suppression during past electoral contests. 'There was so much oppression during their time that people were forced to bring about a change. There was such a high percentage of voting, but there was no rigging, and no one could file any complaints. The result was exactly what was expected…' he added.

Wider Political Context

The Hooghly incident is the latest flashpoint in the ongoing rivalry between the BJP and TMC in West Bengal, a state where both parties have repeatedly accused each other of political violence and intimidation. Critics argue that such incidents — and the competing narratives around them — tend to escalate in the lead-up to rallies and local mobilisation drives. The TMC has maintained that its leaders face systematic targeting, while the BJP contends that the ruling party manufactures such episodes to deflect from governance failures.

Whether Kunal Ghosh proceeds with a formal police complaint at Lal Bazaar or Bhawani Bhawan will be closely watched as an indicator of whether this episode enters the courts or remains a media battleground.