Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari Says Mamata 2021 “Fractured Leg” Claim Was False

Kolkata : West bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday produced a medical report and alleged that Mamata Banerjee claim of a fractured leg during the 2021 poll campaign part of which she conducted from a wheelchair was false. He said his government would launch a probe into Mamata “false propaganda.”

Speaking at a news conference, CM Suvendu said the report came from the department of radio-diagnosis at the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences.

“In 2021, the then chief minister had insulted the whole of Nandigram. She claimed her leg had been fractured,” Suvendu told the news conference. “I have the report from the department of radio-diagnosis at the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences, dated March 11, 2021, which says ‘No evidence of fracture or dislocation’.”

Copies of the report were made available to the media.

On March 10, 2021, Mamata alleged that unidentified people had deliberately pushed her against the open door of her car while she stood on the footboard, greeting supporters in Nandigram. She claimed a fracture to her left leg.

Mamata eventually lost to Suvendu from Nandigram, but retained power in the state.
Asked whether Mamata can be prosecuted if the probe finds against her, Subrata Mukhopadhyay, a senior advocate at Calcutta High Court, said: “Since there is no perjury in the matter, I don’t think any legal action can be taken on this issue against Mamata Banerjee.”

Perjury refers to an intentional falsehood made under oath.
On Friday, too, CM Suvendu had told a campaign rally in Nandigram, where a by-election is scheduled on October 6, that Mamata had insulted Nandigram with her “false propaganda.”

“The door hit her leg, but there was no fracture. But she got her leg bandaged to claim it was fractured,” he had said. “I have the document and will show it at the right time.”

On Saturday, he said that once this round of Assembly by-elections ended, his government would launch a probe.

“The CID is already investigating the matter,” he said, referring to a probe Mamata government had ordered into the alleged March 10, 2021, attack on her at Birulia village in Nandigram’s Reyapara area.

Multiple political analysts had said these images had generated wide voter sympathy for Mamata, particularly among women. While some BJP leaders had initially questioned her injury, the party later backed off, realizing that such a line of campaigning could win more sympathy for Mamata.

On Saturday, multiple BJP sources claimed that CM Suvendu disclosure had hit Mamata image and perceptions about her honesty, and would further hurt the morale of her party that had already lost its symbol and name.

“Her Rejinagar candidate will face questions over her 2021 injury. As for Nandigram, the chief minister has reminded it how voters in the area were blamed for the incident,” a BJP leader said. “This would not have come out had the BJP not come to power in the state.”