The West Bengal Police have filed a case against actor and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Mithun Chakraborty for alleged hate speech targeting Muslims during a party event on October 27, PTI reported.
The case, filed at the Bidhannagar South police station, pertains to remarks that Chakraborty made at an event to launch a BJP membership drive in the North 24 Parganas district.
At the event, Chakraborty referred to remarks made by Trinamool Congress leader Humayun Kabir before the Lok Sabha elections.
“If I do not throw you in the Bhagirathi [river] within two hours, I will leave politics,” Kabir had said, according to The Indian Express. “You are 30% [Hindus, but we are 70% [Muslims]… If you think you can demolish mosques and Muslims will sit back and relax, you are mistaken.”
Kabir was subsequently censured by the Election Commission for his remarks.
“A leader says there are 70% Muslims and 30% Hindus [and] that he will ‘cut’ and throw them in the Bhagirathi,” NDTV quoted Chakraborty as saying on October 27. “We will chop them [up] and bury them in the ground,” he added in an apparent reference to Muslims.
Commenting on the case against Chakraborty, West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar on Wednesday claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was using the police to “unfairly” target the actor.
“Mithun Chakraborty is a pride of Bengal and a celebrated name in Indian cinema, with contributions that will always be respected,” he said on social media. “However, due to political rivalry, the chief minister has chosen to falsely accuse him.”
Majumdar added: “We strongly condemn her actions and will continue to protest against her authoritarian approach.”
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