KOLKATA: Anupam Hazra, the
BJP candidate
from Kolkata’s high-profile Jadavpur constituency found himself in the middle of controversy on Monday after he met Trinamool strongman Anubrata Mondal.
The meeting happened in Bolpur on April 29 when voting was on in the fourth phase of the
Lok Sabha
election and PM Narendra Modi spoke of 40 Trinamool MLAs being in touch with BJP to switch loyalties.
Hazra dropped in at the Trinamool office in Bolpur for a “courtesy and personal” visit, taking his partymen by surprise. Hazra — the ex-Trinamool MP from Bolpur who had apparently gone there to cast his vote — touched Mondal’s
feet
and sought his blessings. “I have come to meet my ‘kaka’ (uncle). In Birbhum, Kestoda (Mondal) is the last word,” said Hazra, who had rebelled against Mondal and cited it as the reason for quitting Trinamool.
On Tiesday, Hazra struck a different tune amid criticism from party workers and leaders, accusing Mondal of using a section of the media to trick him. In a hurriedly convened press meet at the party headquarter at Muralidhar Sen Lane on Tuesday afternoon, Hazra said that he had never wanted media attention on his visit. “It started a few days back when I wrote a Facebook post following Kesto kaku’s (Anubrata) mother’s death. He called me up and asked me to visit once. I could not say no as I grew up with the family,” said Hazra. “I did not know he had asked mediapersons to be there. When I saw them, there was no way to retract.” he reasoned.
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