‘My family was abused’: TMC MP on why he smashed glass bottle in Waqf Bill meeting

Exactly a week after he injured himself when he smashed a glass bottle during a meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Bill, Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee revealed why he reacted in such a manner.

Also, Banerjee said he would not have thrown the bottle at committee chairperson, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal.

Also Read: JPC chief Jagdambika Pal remembers Kalyan Banerjee's 'fury'

“The other day only I told the meeting I had no intention to throw it (bottle) at the chairperson and said I was sorry,” he told reporters in Delhi.

Further, the Trinamool leader, who is among panel members representing opposition parties, alleged he was ‘provoked’ by BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay, a former judge of the Calcutta high court, and now a Lok Sabha member of the ruling party.

“When Gangopadhyay raised his voice, I questioned him. He used abusive language against me and my kin. I reacted but he continued to use foul language,” the MP from West Bengal's Serampore, recalled.

Also Read: TMC's Kalyan Banerjee suspended for a day over ‘unruly conduct’ at JPC Waqf meeting

Banerjee accused JPC chief Pal of being ‘harsh’ with him and ‘soft’ with Gangopadhyay.

“This led to frustration…(the one) who started it (argument) was not pulled up but I was. I became frustrated, and not annoyed. At this point, I smashed the bottle and injured my fingers. I had to let go of the bottle and it rolled towards the Chair," he added.

As a judge, Gangopadhyay gave several judgments ‘against’ the Trinamool government of West Bengal, resulting in tensions between them.

Meanwhile, several meetings of the 21-member JPC on Waqf, have been stormy, including the one on Tuesday. There was a verbal spat during the Mumbai meeting in September as well, and Kalyan Banerjee was involved there too.

(With PTI inputs)