TMC's actor-MLA assaults restaurant owner for 'abusing' Abhishek Banerjee, apologises later
Kolkata, Jun 8: Actor-turned-Trinamool Congress MLA Soham Chakraborty created a controversy by assaulting a restaurant owner who allegedly abused party MP Abhishek Banerjee during the shooting of a film there.
Both Chakraborty and restaurant owner Anisul Alam lodged complaints with the police against each other, an officer said on Saturday.
The MLA later said he wanted to apologise to Alam as he should have controlled his anger.
The problem between the two sides began over parking the cars of Chakraborty and his men in front of the eatery in New Town near Kolkata.
According to CCTV footage of the restaurant, which has gone viral, Chakraborty was seen assaulting Alam.
When contacted, the restaurant owner claimed that he had allowed shooting in a portion of his restaurant "free of cost" on late Saturday evening.
"The entire parking space was occupied by the cars of Mr Chakraborty and his men. My staff told his men to remove their cars as other customers were not able to park their vehicles," Alam said.
The restaurant owner added that the actor's men told him that he's an MLA and a very close friend of TMC's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
"I said that I don't care even if he is Narendra Modi's friend or Abhishek's. It was then when suddenly Mr Chakraborty came and punched me on my face and kicked me in my abdomen," Alam alleged.
Chakraborty admitted to slapping the restaurant owner.
"The owner was abusing my staff and Abhishek Banerjee. He also abused me. I lost my cool and slapped him... I should have kept my cool and could have controlled my anger. I would like to apologise to the owner," the actor-turned MLA said.
On Saturday evening, Chakraborty went to Techno City Police Station and demanded that the police get the CCTV footage of the parking lot where the problem began.
"My action last evening was the reaction to the problem which started at the parking lot. The footage that has been released or made viral is showing me attacking the owner. But why is not the footage of the parking lot not released? I will request the police to watch that also to understand how it started," he said.
A senior officer of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate said that the restaurant owner on Saturday lodged a complaint against the MLA and his security guards.
"We have received complaints both from the MLA and the restaurant owner against each other. We have started cases and investigations are on," the officer said.
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— Krishanu Singha ( Modi Ka Parivar ) (@KrishanuOnline) June 8, 2024
TMC MLA Soham Chakraborty mercilessly beats, drags by collar a restaurant owner and then misuses his security to beat up other staffers in Kolkata's New Town.
Well, no action will be taken against him, the law is of the ruler as there is no rule of law.… pic.twitter.com/nJiMDEthyU
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
