Mamata's Injury: No Conspiracy, No Drama, Just An Accident
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-03-12 07:28:05
About the Author
That Mamata Banerjee was injured in Nandigram is a fact. But it is doubtful if it was an "attack" and a "conspiracy". The footage being shown on television show the chief minister hanging out of the car on the front seat on the left side and waving to the crowd with the gate open. Her security detail was similarly hanging behind her on the back seat. In an area crowded with people trying to catch a glimpse of Didi and rushing forward, that was a dangerous thing to do. The incident was an accident that was waiting to happen. A small push and a collision of the gate with a few people was all that was needed to crush her foot. That seems to be exactly what happened.
Hence, neither is the TMC right in saying that it was a conspiracy on part of the BJP to hurt the chief minister nor is the BJP right in saying that Didi was trying to portray the accident in dark colours to gain sympathy. If the TMC had actually considered the incident to be a conspiracy, Bengal would have been on fire. Apart from isolated incidents of some workers and a few leaders showing rage by blocking roads and holding protest meetings, no major untoward incident was reported. This was also in large measure due to the fact that Mamata immediately realized what her statement about a conspiracy could do and issued an appeal to party workers to remain calm.
But several questions remain. Why was the chief minister brought to Kolkata in the car in which she was travelling? Where was the ambulance that is mandated to follow her? Why she was not transferred to the ambulance to provide preliminary treatment and trauma care? A person of her age needs immediate attention after an injury that induces trauma. The other question is how was the crowd allowed to get so close to her despite her Z+ category security with three rings? These questions need to be answered by the EC based on the report of the police and the elections observers appointed by it. Further, the chief minister's security needs to be both beefed up and streamlined to prevent any such incidents in future. Such mishaps cannot be allowed to happen.
