FIR against Union minister Sukanta Majumdar for comparing Bengal's law and order to brothel

Kolkata: An FIR was registered on Sunday against West Bengal BJP unit president and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar for his purported comment comparing the state's law and order situation to a red light area in north Kolkata.

The FIR was registered at Burtolla police station following a complaint lodged by a sex worker at Sonagachhi, the brothel that Majumdar named in his comment, a police officer said.

In the complaint, Majumdar was also accused of demeaning sex workers of Sonagachi by comparing their condition with the law and order situation in the state.

The ruling Trinamool Congress attacked Majumdar on Saturday after a video in which Majumdar was heard saying "the law and order in Bengal is like Sonagachhi" went viral.

PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video clip which the TMC also shared on X.

From the TMC's state general secretary Kunal Ghosh to its IT cell head Debangshu Bhattacharya, the party in separate statements accused Majumdar of "insulting mothers and sisters of the area" and demanded his apology.

In a video message, local MLA and state minister Shashi Panja said, "@BJP4India state president @DrSukantaBJP owes sex workers an unconditional apology for his disgraceful, dehumanising remarks. Using one of the most vulnerable groups in our society as a punchline for political mudslinging is inexcusable." "Those who spew such filth have no moral right to occupy any Constitutional office," she said.

Majumdar made the comment from inside a car while responding to a question by reporters about the law and order situation of the state.

"Since an FIR has already been filed, there is no need for discussion," BJP Rajya Sabha MP and spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya told PTI.

Majumdar could not be contacted.