Salt Lake, West Bengal: Veteran actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mithun Chakraborty faces legal trouble after the West Bengal police lodged a case against him on Tuesday for alleged hate speech. The case, filed at Bidhan Nagar North police station, stems from remarks Chakraborty made during a BJP event in Salt Lake on October 27, attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The complaint, lodged by Kaushik Saha, a resident of Salt Lake, accuses Chakraborty of making statements intended to incite violence and communal hatred. “The speech was telecast on multiple news channels, and the complaint was registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 192 for provocation to cause a riot and Section 196 for promoting enmity between groups,” a police official stated anonymously.
The event, which served as a launch for the BJP’s membership drive, saw Chakraborty being honored for his recent Dadasaheb Phalke Award. However, his remarks reportedly targeted a prior communal statement by a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and were seen by some as a direct challenge to the TMC. The speech’s content, according to the police report, allegedly crossed the line into rhetoric that could disrupt communal harmony.
In response to the incident, TMC state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar criticized Chakraborty’s approach, remarking, “He is a great actor and the worst politician. He thinks dialogues from movies can be used in public speeches. What he did is shameful.”
The controversy marks yet another flashpoint in West Bengal’s polarized political landscape, with the BJP and TMC often trading accusations of divisive politics. This case adds to the tension between the two parties as they prepare for the upcoming elections, with both sides doubling down on efforts to galvanize their bases. As the case proceeds, it remains to be seen whether Chakraborty will address the allegations or if the BJP will make an official response regarding their leader’s remarks.