The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on May 17 said that it has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against BJP candidate for Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency Abhijit Gangopadhyay for his alleged 'sexist' remarks against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a public rally.
A purported video in which Tamluk BJP candidate and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay was heard wondering about "the amount at which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is getting sold," triggered a row with the TMC labelling it as BJP's guarantee of disrespecting women, while the saffron party raised doubts about the clip's authenticity.
The TMC will also take recourse to legal action, a senior party leader said. PTI, however, couldn't verify the authenticity of the video.
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The comments triggered a spate of condemnation from TMC leaders. TMC leader and West Bengal minister Shashi Panja told reporters here that Gangopadhyay, who is a former judge of Calcutta High Court, has crossed all limits of decency by making 'sexist' remarks against Banerjee.
"It is shameful that a former judge who is now a BJP candidate uses such words to malign a woman chief minister. This is the guarantee of the BJP that women under BJP rule will be insulted in this way," TMC leader Santanu Sen said.
Responding to the TMC's assertion, the BJP claimed it was a "fake video".
"We don't agree with the existence of any such videos. This is a ploy by the TMC to release fake videos and malign the BJP. But that won't make any difference in the elections," BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.
