TMC MP Mahua Moitra summoned over communal
Diamond Harbour cybercrime police summon TMC MP Mahua Moitra for questioning over a social media post alleged to promote communal discord.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has been summoned by the Diamond Harbour cybercrime police in West Bengal. The Krishnanagar MP must appear for questioning at 11 am on Saturday, according to police sources on Thursday.
A senior police official stated the case was registered following a complaint by a Diamond Harbour resident. The complainant alleged that a post made by Moitra on her X social media handle had the potential to promote communal discord. Police have registered a case under provisions that include non-bailable sections.
The Contentious Social Media Post
On September 1, Moitra posted on X alleging that Muslim officers in the West Bengal state administration were deliberately excluded from a programme. The event was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in north Bengal. In her post, she named specific Muslim IAS and IPS officers. Moitra claimed they were either not invited to the event or were prevented from attending it. She questioned whether the exclusion was based on their religion.
That post subsequently drew the formal complaint which led to the police case and the summons.
Political Context of the Summons
The summons arrives amid heightened political tensions within West Bengal. The TMC is facing a significant organisational rupture following its defeat in the Assembly election. A widening political realignment has seen the party's legislative and organisational wings locked in an intense power struggle.
The party's 80-member legislative group became a key battleground. Sixty-five MLAs backed Ritabrata's claim to the Leader of the Opposition's post, rejecting the nominee supported by the Mamata Banerjee-led leadership. Dissident legislators later convened a special session. They elected senior MLA Arup Roy as chairperson and announced a parallel national leadership structure. They claimed the existing leadership under Banerjee had lost the confidence of a majority of elected representatives.
The confrontation later spilled into Parliament. Twenty of the TMC's 27 Lok Sabha MPs aligned with the newly floated NCPI and joined the BJP-led NDA, deepening the organisational divide further. Moitra, however, remains aligned with the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC camp.
Moitra's Political Profile and Broader Conflict
Mahua Moitra is known for her combative interventions against the BJP and the Union government in Parliament. She has frequently used social media to attack the Centre and to raise issues concerning governance and alleged discrimination.
The latest police case comes as the opposition TMC and the ruling BJP are locked in a bitter political exchange. The conflict centers on allegations of discrimination on religious lines and debates over the law-and-order situation in West Bengal. The summons represents a new front in this ongoing political battle.
