Kolkata Municipal Corporation carried out a demolition drive outside Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat on Thursday, removing structures that civic officials said were occupying the public footpath and obstructing pedestrian movement.
The action took place outside 121, Kalighat Road, where civic workers demolished a cement platform, iron poles and the railing around a martyr’s memorial. Workers also cleared the remains of a temporary bamboo shed and dismantled an additional iron gate outside the property boundary using electrical equipment and gas cutters. Police and central forces were present during the operation.
Before the demolition began, Trinamool Congress flags bearing the party’s twin-flower symbol were removed from two poles at the memorial. Staff at Banerjee’s office had started dismantling the bamboo structure on Wednesday evening after police arrived at the premises, according to the report. KMC officials maintained that the structures had been erected on the pavement and were interfering with pedestrian movement.
The civic action was followed by a political dispute over the purpose and timing of the drive. Banerjee wrote on X that no number of bulldozers could silence him or weaken his resolve. Speaking to reporters later, he said the demolition did not affect him and described the action as an attempt to use bulldozers for political pressure.
His lawyer separately wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. Copies of the letter were sent to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Kolkata Police Commissioner and the state’s chief electoral officer. The lawyer alleged that unidentified people had attacked Banerjee’s Kalighat residence and office during the night of November 6-7 as part of an attempt to take documents prepared for submission to the Election Commission.
The letter also alleged that police vehicles had been used by unidentified people to conduct reconnaissance around the premises before the reported attack and again on November 10 and 11. These allegations were made in the letter and were not independently established in the supplied report. The lawyer said the removal of a security gate installed by police increased concerns about Banerjee’s safety and the protection of documents linked to the Election Commission proceedings.
State minister Agnimitra Paul accused Banerjee of encroaching on public space and said illegal structures, including an asbestos shed and tin enclosures, had created difficulties for ordinary residents. TMC spokesperson Arka Nag, however, said the temporary shed had originally been installed by police when Banerjee received Z-plus security and was being dismantled after the withdrawal of additional security cover. TMC leader and lawyer Baiswanor Chattopadhyay described the demolition of the memorial as vindictive.
The immediate civic issue remains the use of a public footpath outside a high-security political residence. KMC’s action removed the memorial platform, temporary shed and additional gate from the pavement. The political parties’ competing claims over security, documents and the ownership of the party symbol remain part of the continuing dispute before the Election Commission.
