Under the anti-defection law, at least two-thirds of the members of a parliamentary party need to switch sides together to avoid disqualification.
Published: May 27, 2026, 1:01 PM IST
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Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (File Image)
Kolkata: An FIR has been lodged against former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for hurting religious sentiments based on a complaint by a lawyer, police said on Wednesday. The complaint was filed at the Siliguri Cyber Crime Police Station on May 20 by advocate Rinki Chattopadhyay Singh. She also alleged that the police had initially refused to register the case and that the FIR was accepted only after repeated follow-ups.
According to the complainant, two remarks by Banerjee — one during a religious event in 2025 and another at a Dharmatala protest ahead of the Assembly elections — had deeply hurt the sentiments and beliefs of “millions of Sanatani Hindus across India and the world”.
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The lawyer has also alleged that the statements were unconstitutional and provocative in nature, a senior police officer said. The complainant said that Banerjee “had stated that a particular community could ‘finish off’ others within five minutes if it wished. Such comments are not expected from a person holding a constitutional position”.
The FIR has been registered under Sections 351 (criminal intimidation), 352 (intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of the peace), 353 (circulation of false statements), 354 (intimidation by inducing belief in divine displeasure, 356 (criminal defamation) and 299 (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings).
A senior police officer of the Siliguri Police Commissionerate confirmed that an investigation had been initiated into the matter. “We have received the complaint, and a case has been registered as per procedure. The matter is under investigation, and all aspects mentioned in the FIR are being examined,” the officer told PTI.
BJP”s Saumitra Khan claims 20 TMC MPs in touch with saffron camp
Senior BJP leader Saumitra Khan has claimed that around 20 TMC MPs were in touch with the saffron camp, ready to switch sides if the party leadership gave its approval, a claim the opposition outfit dismissed as “bogus”. The TMC currently has 29 MPs in the Lok Sabha out of 42 from West Bengal, whereas the BJP has 12 and the Congress has one.
“Twenty TMC MPs are in touch with us. If the party leadership wants, they are ready to switch sides. If the BJP wants, the entire TMC will wind up in the next few days,” Khan, a three-term Lok Sabha MP, told reporters on Tuesday.
Under the anti-defection law, at least two-thirds of the members of a parliamentary party need to switch sides together to avoid disqualification. In the TMC’s case, with 29 MPs in the Lok Sabha, the number works out to around 19 or 20.
Rejecting Khan’s claims, senior TMC MP Sougata Roy termed the reports as “baseless”. “It is absolutely bogus what the BJP and Soumitra Khan are feeding to reporters. Nothing of this sort will happen,” Roy said.
Ahead of the 2021 assembly elections, several prominent TMC leaders had switched to the BJP, only to return after the Mamata Banerjee-led party retained power.
