West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee pulls up image of 1990s attack when heckled during UK event
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faced protests and disruptions during her speech at Oxford University’s Kellogg College, as members of the audience interrupted her with pointed questions and slogans. The event took a dramatic turn when Banerjee, in response to the heckling, held up an old image of herself from the early 1990s, showing her with a bandaged head, claiming it as proof of an attempt to kill her during her time in the opposition.
The disruptions began when Banerjee was speaking about Bengal’s development and investment opportunities. An audience member asked her to name specific investment proposals worth “lakhs of crores” that she claimed the state had received. As she started to respond, others in the audience intervened, urging the questioner to stop, arguing that the event was not a press conference.
She was then confronted with questions about the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case in Kolkata, which had sparked widespread protests by doctors across the country. A member of the audience pressed Banerjee on her government’s handling of the incident, prompting a sharp response from her.
“This matter is sub judice, this case is with the central government. Do not do politics here, this platform is not for politics. You are lying. Do not make it a political platform,” she said. She accused the questioners of having a political agenda, telling them, “You go to Bengal and tell your political party to become even stronger. I will answer you, first see my picture, how an attempt was made to kill me.”
As the interruptions continued, someone raised a question about the treatment of Hindus in Bengal. Banerjee responded, “I am for all, Hindus and Muslims,” but moments later, slogans of “Go back” erupted from a section of the audience.
The protest was led by members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI-UK), a left-wing student organisation, who accused Banerjee and her government of corruption and suppressing democratic rights.
Banerjee, visibly frustrated, pushed back against the demonstrators. “You should give me a chance to speak. You are not insulting me; you are disrespecting your institution,” she said. She accused a section of the audience of being “ultra-left and communal friends”, alleging that similar disruptions were staged wherever she went.
“These people do this everywhere. They do it wherever I go. I support every religion. I support Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians. Do not name one caste, name everyone. What you people are doing is not right. The politics you people are doing, my ultra-left friends and communal friends don’t do that.”
Amid the commotion, Banerjee dramatically pulled out a poster-sized image of herself from the 1990s, showing her with a severe head injury and bandages. Holding it up for the audience to see, she said, “First see my picture, how an attempt was made to kill me.”
The disruptions did not stop there. During the Q&A session, Banerjee was also questioned about the Tata Group pulling out of West Bengal during her tenure, a reference to the controversial exit of Tata Motors’ Nano project from Singur in 2008 following protests led by her party. In response, Banerjee once again pointed to her image from the 1990s, reiterating the hardships she had faced in her political journey.
Despite the interruptions, the event continued, with Banerjee later being asked about India’s economic future. Businessman Karan Bilimoria suggested that India would become the world’s largest economy by 2030, but Banerjee expressed skepticism, citing global instability following the Covid-19 pandemic.
“If there is an economic war-like situation, how do you think you can gain? But we can hope that we will gain,” she said, without elaborating further.
Following the event, SFI-UK issued a statement taking responsibility for the protest, saying they were opposing Banerjee’s “corrupt and undemocratic rule” in Bengal.
The group claimed they had questioned her about the lack of student elections in the state for the past six years, the increase in school dropout rates among girls, and alleged suppression of student protests at Jadavpur University. They also criticised Kellogg College for hosting her, calling her an “anti-democratic leader”.
Despite the disruptions, Banerjee remained defiant.
“Didi is not bothered. Didi will come twice every year and fight like a royal Bengal tiger,” she declared, dismissing the protest. She ended her speech with a characteristic assertion of her resilience: “If you tell me to wash your clothes or cook for you, I will. But if you force me to bow my head, I will not. I will only bow to the people.”
