A purported photo of a TMC leader posing with a gun in a government office in West Bengal's Malda district went viral on social media, triggering a political furore on Tuesday.
In the purported photo, Mrinalini Mondal Maity, the president of Old Malda Panchayat Samiti, was seen posing with the gun in one of her hands while being on her official chair.
Maity is also the president of the district unit of TMC women's wing.
Hitting out at the TMC, the BJP alleged that the ruling party has turned the state into a dump yard of explosives.
"If she is searched, police will also get bombs and rifles. This is TMC's culture. Police are not doing anything out of fear of losing their jobs," said BJP district president Gobinda Chandra Mondal.
The TMC, however, said that the police would look into the matter.
"One cannot play with a gun while sitting on an official chair. Police will investigate if it is a real gun or a toy pistol. But, what I could gather from the photo, it is a real gun. The party's image has been dented because of such an incident," said TMC state general secretary Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury.
Maity could not be reached for comments even after repeated attempts.
This is not the first time that Maity got entangled in a controversy. Earlier, her husband was accused of beating up a government official in the office of the Block Development Officer of the area.
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Published 07 December 2021, 06:49 IST