Kolkata, Aug 16 (IANS) Trinamool Congress general secretary and the party’s Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha member, Abhishek Banerjee, on Sunday issued a social media post blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the media for the suicide of Asish Banerjee, the former West Bengal Minister and ex-Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly.
Referring to the suicide note of the deceased leader, which was recovered this morning along with his body, Abhishek Banerjee claimed that the statements in the suicide note were the result of amplification of baseless allegations by the BJP and a section of the media.
“His final note raises serious and troubling questions about the sustained smear campaign he said he had endured. The BJP and sections of the MEDIA must reflect on the consequences of a politics where allegations are amplified, reputations are put on trial and individuals are condemned in the court of public opinion before the truth is established. Those who participated in this smear campaign should reflect on the human consequences of their words and actions. Political battles will come and go, but a life once lost can never be brought back,” Abhishek said.
He also said that the news of Banerjee’s suicide was not only heartbreaking but troubled the conscience of everyone who believed that politics and journalism should have boundaries.
“A lifelong teacher and public servant, Asish Da devoted decades to serving people with honesty, dignity and simplicity. He was a respected figure and a source of pride for Rampurhat and entire Birbhum district,’ read Abhishek’s post.
According to him, because of the tragic end of Asish Banerjee, West Bengal has lost one of its most respected sons of the soil. “My deepest condolences to his family, students, admirers and well-wishers. May God give them strength in this hour of unimaginable grief,” added Abhishek in his post.
In the one-page handwritten suicide note in Bengali, the deceased leader wrote that he made a mistake by entering the area of politics and that never in his political career had he got involved in any corrupt activity.
“I have been involved in politics since my student days. I have never been involved in any corruption. I became the general secretary of the students’ union at Burdwan University. I was not involved in any corruption there either. There have been political arguments. But in the past, those arguments had never taken the shape of hostility. Although I have not always been able to accept all the injustices of the party, I have not been able to protest. I have never taken a single penny in exchange for any work in my entire life,” the suicide note read.
–IANS
src/dpb
