Sukanta apologises for hurling ‘slipper' at Sikh CISF officer
Kolkata: Junior Union minister and Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, in a statement on Tuesday, apologised for the June 12 incident when he threw a placard, symbolically representing a slipper, that hit a Sikh CISF officer in his own security detail.
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It happened during a BJP protest over the Maheshtala violence.
The issue snowballed into a major controversy after a Kolkata-based Sikh body, Sri Guru Singh Sabha, lodged an FIR against Majumdar at Kalighat police station on June 14.
In a statement on X, Majumdar, referring to the protests, said: "Amidst the chaotic circumstances, a placard I hurled in protest, which symbolically represented a slipper, accidentally landed on the sacred turban of a Sikh CISF officer assigned to my security.
If this unfortunate and unintended incident hurt the religious sentiments of any member of the Sikh community, I offer my deepest and most sincere apologies.
It was never my intention to cause any offence or disrespect."
Majumdar said the incident took place on June 12, "during a peaceful and democratic protest in front of the residence of the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, at Kalighat, Kolkata. I, along with several senior state leaders and karyakartas of Bharatiya Janata Party Paschimbanga, was detained by Kolkata Police and forcefully placed in a prison van."
"Both I and every karyakarta of Bharatiya Janata Party, West Bengal, hold the religious beliefs, the sanctity of the turban, and the revered traditions of the Sikh community in highest esteem," the minister added.
Sri Guru Singh Sabha general secretary Inderjeet Singh Sekhon, who lodged the FIR, said: "Such an act is not only an affront to the Sikh community but also violates the basic fabric of India's constitutional values that ensure respect for all religions and communities. The deliberate nature of the act is clearly visible, leaving no scope for any unintentional justification." The FIR was lodged under BNS sections 302 (protects individuals from actions intended to harm their religious sentiments) and 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt).
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