Lok Sabha condemns bounty on Mamata’s head

The Lok Sabha, the lower House of Indian parliament, today condemned a BJP youth wing leader's offer for a bounty of Rs 11 lakh to anyone who beheads West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Raising the issue soon after the House assembled to take up the day's business, Trinamool Congress party's senior lawmaker Saugata Roy said a BJP youth wing leader had made the "announcement" of giving the reward for beheading Mamata Banerjee, after police used canes to disperse a rally of BJP during Hanuman Jayanti in Birbhum district of West Bengal, about 180km from Kolkata, yesterday.

"Mamata Banerjee is not only an elected chief minister but a former member of this House too. It is a serious and alarming behaviour and the House must condemn it. She is a grass-root leader and government must take action on it," he said.

Supporting Roy, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said his party fully appreciated the sentiment and such an incident must not happen anywhere. "A strong message should go from the government against such behaviour and action must be taken against the guilty," he added.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said such a statement by anyone was completely wrong and the government strongly condemns it. "She is an elected chief minister and due respect must be given to her. We strongly condemn it," Kumar said.

Another senior BJP leader and federal minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has said "I condemn this type of statement. The state government can take proper action."

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said there have been many unpleasant incidents in the political discourse in recent past and everyone must work together to improve it. "This is completely wrong. All sides must exercise restraint," she said.

A member of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, BJP's youth wing in West Bengal, Yogesh Varshney had said an "11 lakh rupee reward" for Mamata's head. He made the remark while slamming the chief minister over police action on a rally held on Sunday to mark Hanuman Jayanti in Birbhum yesterday.

Alleging that people were beaten up brutally in a baton-charge by the police, the youth leader described the chief minister as a "demon" and said, "When I saw the video, I only had one thought... that if anyone gets me Mamata Banerjee's head I will give them 11 lakh."