One ex-judge's rulings brought bad name to Bengal: Mamata Banerjee

Without naming any names, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday launched a scathing attack against the former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, saying that certain judgments by the latter gave the state a "bad name" nationally.

"Some people tell me that given certain court judgements passed in West Bengal, not only the people, even tigers will flee from the state. I tell them that there are some people like 'him',” the chief minister said at the end of a rally organised by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Kolkata on Thursday afternoon.

Without naming Gangopadhyay, the chief minister also said the “former judge” unnecessarily targeted TMC when he was holding the position.

“As a judge, he gave television interviews. He said a lot of things naming Abhishek Banerjee. Finally, he announced his decision to join the BJP. Now, he has been unmasked. In the coming days, he will be judged by the common people,” Banerjee said.

Reacting to the chief minister’s comments, state BJP spokesman and Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya accused TMC of attacking the judiciary whenever any judgement goes against the party or the state government.

“There had been instances when slanderous posters were pasted on the walls of a judge's residence. The state government had challenged the orders of Gangopadhyay in higher courts. But in most cases, the higher courts upheld the orders passed by Gangopadhyay,” Bhattacharya said.

Meanwhile, speaking at the rally, Banerjee once again referred to the recent controversy relating to the alleged derogatory comments made by state BJP chief Suvendu Adhikari in connection with the turban of a Sikh IPS officer in the state. “For the BJP, all Sikhs are ‘Khalistanis’, all Muslims are ‘Pakistanis’ and everyone in Trinamool is a 'thief',” the chief minister said.