Election Commission censures Abhijit Gangopadhyay for remark on Mamata Banerjee
Abhijit Gangopadhyay, the BJP candidate for Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency, was censured by the Election Commission on Tuesday for his ‘what’s your price’ remark at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a public gathering.
In its order, the poll body debarred Gangopadhyay from campaigning, for a period of 24 hours, beginning 5 pm on May 21, 2024 (today).
The Election Commission also advised Gangopadhyay to exercise caution in his public statements during the Model Code of Conduct.
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“This, the Commission hereby strongly censures Abhijit Gangopadhyay for the above-said misconduct and debars him from campaigning for 24 hours starting from 17.00 hrs of 21st May, 2024. The Commission also strictly warns Abhijit Gangopadhyay to remain careful in his public utterances during the currency of Model Code of Conduct,” an official statement by the Election Commission read.
Gangopadhyay’s sexist remarks
On Friday, the Trinamool Congress filed a complaint with the Election Commission against Gangopadhyay, accusing him of making “sexist” statements against Mamata Banerjee.
Shashi Panja, a Trinamool leader and West Bengal minister, has also stated that the party will pursue legal action against Gangopadhyay, a former Calcutta High Court judge.
Gangopadhyay made several exceedingly disrespectful statements throughout the speech, including: “Mamata Banerjee, how much are you being sold for?” Why is your rate 10 lakhs? Because you are having your makeup done by Keya Seth? Mamata Banerjee, is she even a woman? I keep wondering occasionally.”
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“This definitely demonstrates the misogynistic behavior of the BJP candidate. It is regrettable that, having had a significant position in the judiciary, he has decided to assault the dignity of women, especially those in positions of power,” the letter stated.
Election Commission’s Order
In its order, the Election Commission on Tuesday said, “Abhijit Gangopadhyay has committed the same type of violation to a worse degree.”
The poll panel further directed BJP president JP Nadda to provide an advisory from his party to all candidates and campaigners to ensure that this mistake does not occur again during the campaign.
According to the Commission’s statement, it has “carefully gone through the contents and averments made in the aforesaid reply of Abhijit Gangopadhyay and has again gone through the statement made, and is convinced that he has ‘made a low-level personal attack’ and thus violated the provisions of Model Code of Conduct.”
