Kolkata:
A senior BJP leader credited with strengthening the party in Bengal finds himself in the middle of a massive controversy after he lost his temper and threatened to choke a woman protester. A video of former MP Dilip Ghosh’s confrontation with the women in Kharagpur has gone viral, drawing criticism from the ruling Trinamool.
Mr Ghosh was surrounded by the local women when he had gone to inaugurate a newly built road in Ward number 6 on Friday. The women questioned his absence during his tenure as an MP, infuriating the former state BJP chief.
“Where were you all this time? We didn’t see you even for a day when you were an MP. Now, after our councillor (Pradip Sarkar of the Trinamool) has built the road, you’re here?” asked a woman.
Mr Ghosh responded aggressively and branded the protesters as Trinamool supporters. “I have built it with my money, not your father’s money. Go and ask Pradip Sarkar about it,” hit back the BJP leader.
ছিঃ! একজন মহিলাকে বিজেপি নেতা দিলীপ ঘোষ কিভাবে হুমকি দিচ্ছে, শুনে নিন! বিজেপির থেকে এর বেশি আর কিই বা আশা করা যায়? ধিক্কার বিজেপিকে!#ShameOnBJP #DilipGhosh #bjpwestbangal pic.twitter.com/JdGL4guhJc
— Banglar Gorbo Mamata (@BanglarGorboMB) March 21, 2025
The women did not relent. One of them asked, “Why bring up our father? You were an MP, can you talk like this?”
The situation escalated quickly with Mr Ghosh responding, “I will bring up your fourteen generations.” “Don’t scream. I will choke you. I had given money for this from my MPLAD fund when I was a parliamentarian,” he threatened the protesters and called them “Trinamool’s dogs”.
The argument sparked tension in the area, prompting a police team from the nearby Kharagpur Town police station to reach the spot. By then, the women had surrounded his car. Reports suggest they even tried to hit the car, forcing Mr Ghosh to leave the area.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Ghosh later claimed that the Trinamool had orchestrated the protest. “These are opportunists barking for Rs 500 (Lakshmir Bhandar – a government scheme for women). Those who bark, Dilip Ghosh will bring up their father.”
“I had worked for construction of this stretch of road with the MPLAD fund money that was sanctioned during my tenure. I went there to inaugurate it, but at the instruction of the local councillor, a few women came to protest. When Pradip Sarkar was chairman, I was an MLA. Even now, Kharagpur municipality has stalled many of my funded projects,” said Mr Ghosh.
In an online post, he said the road was built at Rs 2.6 lakh, and that it will improve the living conditions of locals in the low-lying area.
A year ahead of the state assembly elections, the incident has provided ammunition to the Trinamool to target the BJP, which had made considerable inroads in Bengal over the past several years and now aims to dethrone the Mamata Banerjee government.
Mr Sarkar, the Trinamool councillor and a former MLA from Kharagpur, has condemned Mr Ghosh’s actions and said the language he used was unbecoming of a former MP. He also asked why Mr Ghosh went to inaugurate the road despite not being an MP anymore.
“He went there and lost his temper. He disrespected the women by bringing up their fathers. I was not there, but he even insulted my father. He called the women 500-rupee workers. He should apologise. Otherwise, wherever he goes in Kharagpur, there will be protests. Such language is unbecoming of a former MP,” said the councillor.