CPIM state secretary Md Salim (File)Participating in a protest march organised by Left parties in Birbhum’s Rampurhat, demanding punishment for the accused in the Bogtui-killings, Anis Khan’s death, Hanskhali and Bolpur rape incidents, CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim on Sunday compared the state police with “dog”, drawing flak from the ruling Trinamool Congress.
Salim made the controversial remarks at a public meeting in Bankura on Saturday and followed it up with similar comments at another rally in Arambagh in Birbhum district earlier in the day. “I apologise that my comparison of the ability of police to catch culprits with that of trained canines used by the force was an insult to the dogs, as they would return the trust posed in them through their performance,” he said in Arambagh, where at least 10 people died in an arson last month at Bogtui. “They (canines) will work objectively and not register cases at the behest of the likes of (TMC Birbhum district president) Anubrata Mondal,” Salim added.
Reacting to Salim’s remarks, TMC general secretary Kunal Ghosh said, “Those who used to call Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose a ‘Tojo’s dog’ will have this culture. It’s their genetic problem. In their time, police were turned into slaves. We should strongly condemn this (Salim’s statement) because our family members work in the police. Salim forgot how they used police during their regime.”
BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said several such incidents in the recent past may have spurred Salim to make the comments.
— With PTI inputs
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