Who is Kalyan Banerjee, TMC MP who smashed a glass bottle at Waqf panel meeting

The 66-year-old lawyer-turned-politician, who has been among the oldest colleagues of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee since she formed the Trinamool Congress (TMC) successful 1998, is known arsenic overmuch for representing his enactment successful important ineligible proceedings arsenic helium is for his controversies.

A TMC MP from Serampore successful the Hooghly district, Banerjee archetypal won an Assembly predetermination backmost successful 2001 from Asansol Uttar. He mislaid successful 2006, and by 2009, had moved connected to Parliament. With his triumph successful the caller Lok Sabha polls, helium is present a four-time MP from Serampore.

Alongside, Banerjee has proved a utile advocator for his enactment erstwhile it comes to tricky ineligible cases, representing it successful assorted high-profile suits successful the Calcutta High Court, wherever helium has practised since 1981. Among the cases helium has handled are the Rizwanur Rahman lawsuit (who was allegedly driven to termination by his influential Hindu in-laws), the Nandigram and Singur onshore agitations – each of which helped the TMC’s emergence against the Left Front – and the Chhota Angaria massacre of TMC activists. Kalyan besides took up the Bhikari Paswan case, involving a custodial death.

Even earlier the TMC came to power, Banerjee often made news. In 2009, helium attributed CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s predominant visits to a movie and taste centre to his affinity for Scotch whiskey.

In 2015, elder BJP person and past in-charge of the party’s affairs successful West Bengal, Siddharth Nath Singh, sent Banerjee a ineligible announcement implicit allegedly defamatory and libellous statements not conscionable against him but besides his household members.

During Dhankhar’s rocky tenure arsenic West Bengal Governor (2019-2022), Banerjee was often the premier instigator from the TMC side. On May 7, 2021, aft Dhankar sanctioned the prosecution of TMC ministers based connected a petition by the CBI, Kalyan said: “He is simply a bloodsucker. He is trying to suck the humor of the Trinamool Congress.” Days later, the TMC MP threatened to determination against Dhankhar aft helium was nary longer the Governor and did not bask ineligible immunity.

In the past fewer years, Banerjee has been seen arsenic the dependable of the aged brigade successful the TMC, chafing astatine the emergence of Abhishek Banerjee arsenic Mamata’s heir apparent. In January 2022, helium criticised what was highlighted arsenic ‘the Diamond Harbour model’, named aft the constituency of Abhishek, successful warring Covid-19. “Why were shot tournaments organised by the MP successful Diamond Harbour astatine the commencement of the New Year if helium was superior astir Covid management?” Kalyan said successful a nonstop onslaught connected Abhishek.

Last December, Banerjee was erstwhile again successful the oculus of a tempest implicit a video from the Parliament analyzable showing him, surrounded by different suspended Opposition MPs, ostensibly mimicking the Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who described the enactment arsenic “shameful, ridiculous and unacceptable”. The incidental occurred against the backdrop of protests by the Opposition implicit a treatment connected the December 13 Parliament information breach and against the consequent record-high suspension successful some Houses.

But Banerjee insisted that helium would repetition the enactment a 1000 times since it is his cardinal right. “Mimicry is an creation form. It is my cardinal close to explicit my views. The close to dissent and protestation is besides a cardinal right. You tin enactment maine successful jailhouse for this but I volition not measurement back,” said Banerjee, adding, “I did the mimicry but aboriginal I came to cognize that it became a large deal. But the archetypal enactment of mimicry I saw successful the Lok Sabha was by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When helium did it, we laughed it off. We took the substance sportingly. They are crying hoarse implicit mimicry.”

During his Lok Sabha run earlier this twelvemonth successful Serampore, helium drew flak for his clashes with his rival CPI(M) campaigner Dipsita Dhar, nationalist associated caput of the CPI(M)’s students helping and a PhD student astatine JNU. After Dhar referred to Banerjee arsenic “Mr India”, claiming the radical of Serampore hadn’t seen him since helium won the 2019 election, Banerjee questioned her world credentials, calling her “Miss Universe”. He besides made derogatory comments connected Dhar’s complexion, saying she “doesn’t run successful the evening arsenic radical won’t beryllium capable to spot her.”

Banerjee is among the 13 Opposition MPs successful the 31-member committee, headed by BJP subordinate Jagdambika Pal, that has been tasked by the Lok Sabha to scrutinise the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which has drawn protests from the Opposition parties and Muslim organisations.