The comment came after Trinamool’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was attacked during a visit to Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas on Saturday, May 30, and party MP Kalyan Banerjee was allegedly heckled near Chanditala Police Station in Hooghly district on Sunday, May 31. The episodes have sharpened tensions in a state still unsettled by post-poll violence and a major political transition after the Bharatiya Janata Party took office under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Sibal, a senior advocate and independent Rajya Sabha member, criticised the attacks as an assault on democratic participation, arguing that political rivalry could not justify physical intimidation. He questioned what action had been taken against those involved and asked why senior constitutional and political authorities had not responded more strongly. His comments drew immediate criticism from BJP leaders, who accused him of selective outrage and of using isolated incidents to malign the country.
Abhishek Banerjee, the Diamond Harbour MP and one of Trinamool’s most prominent national faces, was visiting Sonarpur to meet families affected by post-election clashes when a crowd surrounded him. Stones, eggs and abuses were hurled, and video footage showed disorder around his convoy. Banerjee later alleged that the attack was planned and claimed the intention was to harm him seriously. Trinamool leaders blamed BJP workers for the violence and circulated images that they said identified some of those involved.
Police in Baruipur registered cases and began examining video and mobile phone footage to identify suspects. Five people arrested in connection with the Sonarpur incident were granted bail, but officers said the investigation was continuing. The handling of the case has become another point of political friction, with Trinamool alleging that the state administration has failed to provide adequate protection to opposition leaders.
A day after the Sonarpur attack, Kalyan Banerjee, the Sreerampur MP, was allegedly mobbed near Chanditala Police Station when he arrived to submit a deputation on cases linked to post-poll violence and arrests of Trinamool workers. Banerjee said he suffered a head injury during the confrontation. Trinamool described the incident as another attempt to intimidate its leaders, while BJP figures rejected the allegation that the attacks were organised by the party.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari appealed to people not to take the law into their own hands, saying anger should be addressed through legal and democratic channels. His statement sought to distance the government from vigilante action while acknowledging that public resentment against the former Trinamool administration had contributed to the charged atmosphere. Trinamool has dismissed that argument as an attempt to normalise violence against elected representatives.
The controversy has also widened beyond Bengal. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav condemned the attack on Abhishek Banerjee, saying political differences could never justify violence. Sibal’s intervention added weight to opposition criticism, particularly because he framed the incidents as part of a broader challenge to democratic norms rather than as a state-level law-and-order issue.
BJP leaders countered that Sibal had ignored earlier violence in Bengal when Trinamool was in power. They argued that the state’s political culture had long been marked by coercion and that the current unrest reflected public anger after 15 years of Trinamool rule. Some opposition figures outside the BJP have also said that resentment against Trinamool’s local networks has contributed to confrontations, though they have stopped short of defending attacks on MPs.
