Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra came under alleged attack in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on Saturday, 7 June, when protesters reportedly hurled eggs and vandalised his car during his visit to the Kamarhati constituency. Mitra was reportedly not in the vehicle at the time. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), now in power in the state, swiftly alleged the incident was orchestrated by Mitra himself to secure a government security cover.

BJP's Allegation: A Staged Attack

Bengal Minister Arjun Singh did not mince words, telling reporters: 'He (Mitra) got his own people to attack his car so that he could get security cover, nothing else.' Singh further alleged that individuals named Anwar and Shahbaz — described as frontmen of Mitra — were involved, and that the entire episode was engineered to bolster Mitra's security arrangements.

BJP MLA Pawan Singh refuted Mitra's claim that an attempt had been made on his life. 'He will make some or the other allegations, there's no truth in all this,' Singh told reporters. In a pointed aside, he added: 'If somebody does want to kill him, he (Mitra) won't be told beforehand.'

Trinamool's Counter-Claim

Mitra, for his part, blamed 'BJP-backed miscreants' for the vandalism and the egg-pelting. The Trinamool leader alleged that the attack amounted to a murder attempt — a charge the BJP has categorically denied. The incident forced Mitra to leave the Kamarhati area, according to reports.

BJP Acknowledges Public Anger, Urges Restraint

BJP MLA Pawan Singh acknowledged that sections of the public who allegedly suffered under the previous Trinamool Congress government were 'taking out their frustration.' He appealed for restraint, saying: 'People have voted us to power with a lot of hope, but there are certain sections of people who endured torture during the Trinamool's regime and are now taking out their frustration in some way or the other.' Singh urged BJP workers to approach the police rather than take the law into their own hands if they faced grievances.

CPI-M Condemns Violence, Contextualises Anger

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Hannan Mollah said such incidents of Trinamool leaders facing public backlash may continue, attributing it to the 'politics of hatred and a politics of violence' that the party allegedly cultivated during its 15-year rule. 'During this period, hundreds of people were killed, thousands were beaten, houses were attacked and burned, and money was allegedly looted through different channels like elections, education, recruitment, etc,' Mollah said. He nonetheless drew a firm line: 'Even a criminal should not be attacked. A criminal should be tried and punished by a court of law. I condemn any attempt to attack any political leader.'

This comes amid a broader pattern of post-election political violence reports in West Bengal following the BJP's rise to power in the state. How the new government manages both accountability for alleged past excesses and the rule of law will be closely watched in the weeks ahead.